Stay
by merelyhuman
Summary: Bella and Edward have been friends for as long as they can remember. Seventeen-year-old Bella and Edward decide to compete in a talent show and practice often to reach perfection. They simply can't live without each other. But what happens when they get into an accident, and Bella goes into a coma? "Bella, please wake up. How am I supposed to do this without you?" CC AH AU BxE
1. Prologue

_**A/N: **_

_**Welcome to my second attempt of creating my own story! **_

_**I never continued my previous attempt for several reasons; my English simply wasn't good enough, I didn't have the story planned out in my head yet so I had no idea where I was going with the story and last but not least, I had gotten no response. **_

_**I realize now I should've just continued, but now I've had some extra time to improve my English and I hope I succeeded (: **_

_**Now back to the story.**_

_**This will be an AH, AU story with of course our lovely Bellward couple playing the lead. This is a small prologue, but I hope I'll get you excited to read on. I promise I'll post the first chapter soon :) **_

_**It is Rated M for language, events that could be found shocking by some, and maybe some lemons ;) **_

_**HEA: Maybe ;)**_

_**Any mistakes are mine, it's not beta'ed. **_

_**Disclaimer: The original story and the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just playing with it :) **_

_**Ok, that A/N was longer than the chapter. Sorry for that. Have fun!**_

**Prologue**

"_911, what is your emergency?"_

"_There's so much blood. . . I just can't. . . Please come and help her!"_

"_Sir, what's your current location?"_

"_Her eyes . . . they're red and the blood . . . it's coming out of her mouth! Help her!"_

"_Sir, please hold, we're busy determining your location, I need you to remain calm and stay with the victim. Are you injured in any way?"_

"_J – Just some scrapes, my arm hurts but it doesn't matter. She's. . ."_

"_Could you tell me what position she's in?"_

"_She – she was on her b-back, I turned her on her side."_

"_Well done. Now, are you able to tell if her breathing is regular?"_

"_I – I don't know."_

"_We've determined your location. There's an ambulance on its way, I need you to remain calm. You're doing great. Now, listen to her breathing. Is it regular?"_

"_Hurry please!"_

"_We'll be there as soon as we can. In the meantime, I need you to check her breathing."_

"_It – It's slow, like very slow. She's not gonna die right? She can't die!"_

"_Sir, I need you to remain calm. We'll try everything we can. Can you hear the sirens?"_

"_N – No."_

"_YES YES YES, I DO!"_

"_Stay with her until the ambulance has arrived, they'll help you both from there."_

"_Now, what's your name?"_

"_I – It's Edward."_

"_That's a nice name. What's your friend's name?"_

"_It's Bella. A – Are they c-close yet?"_

"_They'll be there any minute now. Can you tell me what happened to Bella?"_

"_W – We were going downhill and – They're here!"_

"_Oh God, they're running towards me."_

"_I'm going to go and let you off the line so you can go talk to them."_

"_Ok, alright."_

_**A/N: **_

_**Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you! I'll update soon! **_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Thanks for the fav's and the review! Too bad I can't answer the review since it's from a guest. I'm quite happy with this chappy, hope you are too.**

**I'm not sure when'll update again. I'll try as soon as possible of course! **

**Tomorrow is Rpatz's 28****th**** birthday! Yay!**

**Let's get to reading! Have fun!**

**It's an unbeta'ed chapter; all mistakes are mine. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. **

_Chapter 1_

_BPOV_

"Edward, I just can't, okay?" My left fist is supporting my head, my elbow digging into the wooden table. It feels like my head is made of concrete, and my neck failed trying to keep it upright.

As opposed to my position, Edward is sitting up straight, ready to get into action when allowed.

"Being able to is very different from not daring to," Edward – my supposedly best friend says.

We've practically been friends since we were in diapers, but I could strangle him right now. He just won't give up.

"Did your mom never learn you that no means no? Edward, I won't let you read my story. It's practically me on a piece of paper! Do you have any idea what a big advantage I'm giving you in our future disagreements?! You'll just dig this shit up, using it as leverage against me."

During my speech I'd found the strength to lift my own head – kudos to me – and even stand on both my legs, emphasizing my point. My physical condition is great, but making unnecessary movements just for the sake of doing so? Didn't think so.

"You know I'd never do that!" Edward exclaimed, wearing his signature crooked grin.

"How'd you even get the guts to say something like that! If I remember correctly, and you know I'm always correct," I lifted my eyebrows as saying _'dare to tell me differently' _before continuing, "when you pleaded me to tell you the awkward dream I had last week, you'd told me that you'd never tell someone. Guess what you did yesterday when I didn't want to give you the last chocolate bar?" I literally saw it down on him. His pupils broke the contact with mine before settling on the floorboards.

"That's right! I'm pretty sure your exact words were: "Gimme that bar or would you like me to tell Connor about how you dreamed about sucking on his earlobe, huh?"

_God, now I've allowed the images of that dream to enter my mind once again. Thanks so much, dickhead._

His head slowly moved up again, his right hand reaching for the bronze mess on top of his head. He fisted his hair, before scratching his scalp. His nose scrunched up in a disgusted manner, I knew he hated when I was right.

"You know how I get without my chocolate," was his simple answer.

"You had three bars already! Not one, not two, no, three!" I wasn't actually mad; my writing was just a sensitive subject to me. Letting him read the thing I'd spent for over a year on creating was practically giving my heart to him on a silver platter, without the nastiness of the blood then. The ways he could misuse that were infinite. In theory I knew I could trust him, but he has no verbal filter. He'd just blurt it out without even realizing himself. And then who was the fucked one, huh?

"Hey! Easy there! I'm a growing boy alright?" That he is right about. With his current length of 6'3", he is still growing. He outgrew me about 2 years ago, and I am unfortunately stuck with my 5'4".

_Hey, I'm still standing. Let's not work out on a Saturday evening, alright?_

I took my seat next to the desk again.

My laptop was sitting on the desk, Edward and I on either side of it. It was closed. Was I afraid to turn my back on him, afraid that he'd just check it without my permission?

I knew he was capable of that; his curiosity often gets the best of him. God bless whoever thought of the idea to put passwords on laptops. Luckily, my password was a combination of numbers and letters he'd never even understand the meaning of if I slipped it into his hand on a piece of paper.

He scooted his chair closer to me and leaned with his elbows on his knees; head bowed. He grabbed my left hand in both of his chanting my name over and over.

"Thanks for telling me my name, but if you think that sweet talking is gonna help you in this situation you're damn wrong," I pulled my hand roughly from his and stood from the chair.

"Oh come on, Bella, don't be like that."

"You just can't take fucking no for an answer!" Now I was fuming, we both knew I had a soft spot for his smooth talking, and he wasn't afraid to take advantage of that.

"Was that my mom? I think dinner's ready. You should leave," I prayed he'd believe my lie but he knew me better than that.

_Damn parents for making us share a damn playground. _

"Seriously? Since when do you stoop that low, Bella? I'm just baffled. You know I'm just trying to be your rock here right? I'm trying to get you to do something, just because I know you otherwise won't! You've dreamed about becoming a fucking author for God knows how long, but you realize that involves people actually reading your work right?"

It was my turn to suck up the image of the floorboards.

"Was that my phone? I think my mom wants me home for dinner. I'll see you later. Bye."

He shook his phone in the air to point out he was lying too. With that he left my room, slamming my door. It shook on its hinges.

Before I could even sit down in my chair again, or lie on my yet-to-be-made bed, the door opened again. I threw myself down on my bed anyway and grabbed a magazine from the little pile on the floor. '_Rihanna back to being a party-animal?' _The cover said. Do I look like I give a shit if Rihanna likes to party or not? Didn't think so.

"Who shove a stick up his ass?" That'd be the heavy and booming voice of my brother Emmett.

"He probably likes it rough," I answered without looking up from my magazine. I exfoliated a page, tilting my head to find the right angle to view a photo of a very drunk Ke$ha, wearing God knows what at God knows where.

In just a matter of seconds, Emmett made it from the door to my bed, throwing the magazine away and landing next to me. How he could be so fast with his amount of muscle is still a question to me, but how he could make so little noise while doing so is a whole other matter.

"Dude! I was reading that!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms in the air.

"Come on, little sis. Stop with the PMS-ing talk. Now come here and give your big brother a big smooch." He grabbed my chin before I could even tell him to fuck off about the PMS thing, placing a big fat – and not to mention wet – kiss on my cheek.

"Ew! Em! Why'd you do that? And I'm not fucking PMS-ing! If you want to cuddle, Rose's house is on the next block." I'd stood up to use my sleeve to swipe his saliva from my cheek.

If I didn't know better, I'd think a dead bear was lying on my bed.

His eyes were closed, his hands resting above his head.

_Aw, you should've known better, big brother. Such a pity._

With a thump I threw myself on top of him, landing on his stomach and unintentionally kneeing him in the balls.

_I swear I didn't mean to! I'm not saying I'm very sorry either, but it wasn't a planned action._

"Fuck, Bella!" He held his hands over his crotch, as if he's trying to protect them from another act on the family jewels.

I'd landed on my ass on that fuck-hard wooden floor, but I couldn't be bothered since I was laughing my ass of.

_Ha! Word joke!_

_I so need more cool friends. _

He stood from my bed, forgetting all about his beloved family jewels, grabbing me around the waist and throwing me on the bed, not without falling on top of me either.

_Please don't. I'm begging you._

And he starts to tickle me.

_Maybe I should've said it out loud? The begging part?_

_Fuck my life._

"Em! Stop! Moooooom! Emmett is trying to rape me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I swear, the neighbors could've heard it.

"Am not!" Emmett yelled, not giving up on tickling me.

I held my breath, trying my hardest not to respond. That'd make it less fun.

In theory, it should've worked, right?

Why did I even try to link one of my theories to Emmett? After seventeen fucking years, I still don't know how to handle my brother properly. Again, such a pity.

"Kids!" My mom screamed from downstairs, "dinner's ready! Emmett, stop trying to rape Bella! Bella, quit hurting Emmett in vile and cunning ways!"

_Let's just say mom knows her kids very well. _

Emmett had stilled when mom said something, so I took the opportunity to crawl out from underneath him, straighten my clothes and ruffle my hair a bit before making my way downstairs.

I heard a soft 'the fuck?' before heavy footsteps followed me down the stairs.

Like he used to do when I was little, at the landing of the staircase, he grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder, my face looking at the small of his back.

_Why is it even called the small of your back? Nothing about Emmett is small. Okay, that came out wrong. I meant his body, you know, his limbs and all. Shit, I'm just digging myself deeper and deeper. Let's just pretend this didn't happen. _

He finally put me down when we reached the dining room. The dining room was added to our house only three years prior to this day, together with a den and a patio. The room was decorated with navy colored curtains, hanging in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Golden ropes held them to the sides during the day. Those robes have been the provocation for a lot of arguments at the Swan Residence. My dad loathed them, Emmett loathed them, I loathed them, but my mom, she loved them. Still does. And since my dad gave my mom permission to decorate the dining room _all on her own_ – mistake of the decade – he had no reason to intervene whatsoever.

_Those fucking ugly things are the bane of my existence._

_Exaggerating much?_

_No, not at all._

_Great, I'm having internal discussions with myself now too. Way to go, Bella._

On to the rest of the dining room; same dark wooden floorboards as the living room and upstairs, a black table with white luxurious chairs. The chairs have little golden touches; the legs are silver with golden ribbons around them. It hurts my eyes to even enter the damn room, and I'm not even talking about eating in it. Every single time I chew and observe my surroundings, I swear I throw up in my mouth a little.

Mom and dad are sitting on the opposite of each other, just like me and Emmett.

"Hmm, smells good mom!" Yes, that was Emmett. I swear he's becoming a food critic when he grows up. Or not, he'd even give a greasy hot dog from a stand on the corner of a street a ten out of ten while he give some 'foie gras' an average five out of ten. Why not a more inadequate mark? "What? It's edible!" He'd exclaim. Believe me, I know my brother.

We get seated and help ourselves from the plates on the table. Emmett loads his plate full and shoves forks full of chicken and I believe some potato as well into that bottomless pit. Some might refer to that bottomless pit as 'Emmett'.

I take a modest bite from the roasted chicken, and it tastes delicious.

"So, Bella," Dad starts.

"Uh, oh, this will be good," Emmett whispers through his mouthful. I made sure to kick him in the shin for that comment.

"Fuck!" Yep, that was Emmett clutching his leg from a kick that just came out of nowhere!

"Emmett, language," that would be mom.

He huffs before going back to his food.

I face dad and observe his facial expressions. No scrunched up face, or blazing eyes, there's even a tiny smile playing on his lips.

_I guess I can sit back and relax then. _

Figuratively speaking of course, I just take a bite of my baked potatoes.

"How's the writing coming along?"

"It's fine," I answer my dad. My dad has shown a lot of interest in my writing. Luckily, he isn't so damn insistent on reading something of mine as my dear friend Edward is.

"Yes, Bella, Edward mentioned when he left that he's gonna be a pre-reader for you! How amazing! I'm sure Edward will love your work, and he could even correct some mistakes because he's so good at his English!"

_He fucking WHAT?!_

**A/N:**

**Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think. **

**~Nathalie **


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **

**Hello! Thanks for quite a few of you for putting this story on alert! **

**I've no idea on a posting schedule yet, I just have to wait and see for a while how this story will develop and if the writing will get any harder. **

**I promise to update as soon as possible.**

**Now, let's get back to our favorite couple! (and some others lol)**

**Unbeta'ed, all mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm only playing with them. **

**Chapter 2**

**BPOV**

"Why won't you just let him read it? It's not like you don't trust him, right?"

Rosalie was lying on her bed with her feet on the pillows, hair cascading down onto the floor. Her voice sounded bored, even though I had practically called her in the heat of the moment.

After mom told me what Edward had said when he left, I immediately ran out the door to my best friend's house.

Regardless of the steam that came out of my ears, I'm now relaxed and lying on the floor.

"Can I marry this carpet? It's so fucking soft and beautiful, Rose," compliments can take Rose easily off guard, with has as a consequence that she forgets her question.

Shallow much? No, just ambitious.

"There's no talking you out of this one, bitch," Damn, Rose's smarter than she looks.

With the blond hair, huge rack, tiny waist and sky-high heels, and all.

"Of course I fucking trust him, it's just . . . I don't know, weird?" My hands are fisting my hair and I'm biting my lip. I hate fighting with Edward, but he just crossed the line. He knows my writing is me dearly, and that I'm sensitive about it.

"Weird is your middle name, I wouldn't expect any different," was Rose's conning reply. She may look dumb, but she's anything but.

"What a mess," I breathed.

"You're making a mess out of it, just fucking let him read the thing. He's never done anything for you to doubt him at all, and still you are. I think that hurt him."

The sound of sighing filled the tension filled air, which made me shiver a bit.

"You're right," I hated to admit it, but she was.

"Aren't I always?" Her smile was heard in her words. Let's just say she enjoys being right.

"Way to ruin the moment, Rose," I stood from my comfortable position on the way too soft carpet and walked over to Rose. Soon I had enveloped her in my arms and she was patting my back awkwardly. Rose's never been one for display of affection.

~Stay~

"Hi, Bella!" Esme was beaming as she opened the door and enveloped me in a tight hug, with my laptop awkwardly pressed between us.

"Is he in?" I winced when I saw Esme's face. She could read me like an open book.

"I thought something was up between the two of you when he entered the house. I haven't seen him this upset since you had that fight two years ago," Esme said, worry sticking to her words.

Oh, _that _fight. Let's just say that exchanging saliva with a guy two years older than us wasn't okay according to Edward's book.

I patted the black laptop I was holding. "This will fix it," I said confidently.

Esme closed the door behind me and slightly pushed me in the direction of the staircase. The Cullen household was residented in a mansion a few miles away from the town center. Greenery enclosed the house and it made a beautiful contrast with the very white color of the walls.

I don't know how many times I walked these stairs, but I knew exactly which steps to avoid to prevent the stairs from giving away that someone was coming up.

When I reached the top of the staircase I did my little happy-dance.

_Congratulations! You once again successfully reached the second floor without even one sound! _

Okay, now back to business; winning Edward back.

Hell, it sounded like I was going to convince him of coming back to live with me or something.

I knocked on the door, three times a bit harder before knocking twice really softly. That was our secret – not so secret – knock.

When he opened the door his hair was like a clusterfuck on the top of his head, more so than normally. To make matters worse, he dragged his hand through it once more. His green eyes were tired and when I looked behind him I saw his bed unmade.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Have you been sleeping during the daylight hours, Mr. Cullen? Turning into a vampire perhaps? I read this awesome book about a girl and a vampire last weekend. Go stand in the sun, just to make sure you're not some sparkling vampire," I pushed him over to his window after nonchalantly throwing my laptop on Edward's unmade bed. It launched into the air, so I held my breath until it landed on the bed again, I then exhaled a shaky breath.

Edward's abs were very obvious and refined through his white wife-beater and his muscled chest stood out even more.

_I had never noticed Edward to be so muscular. Huh. He must've started working out or something. _

I tried dragging him across the room to his window, but instead he stood still, crossing his arms in front of his very nice chest. I couldn't get him to move even an inch.

_Damn, he's strong._

His cold stare penetrated my eyes and I felt him look disapprovingly at me.

"I brought my laptop, okay? We can transfer it all to your computer and then you can read it. I'm sorry for not giving in earlier; I just don't want you to use this against me it's all. It's not that I don't trust you, you're my best friend and I love you and I know you'll never give this to anyone without my permission and shit and-" and then my head was against that very hard chest.

_Wow, it's even nicer in person._

He let me go and then lifted his pinky into the air. We used to do this when we were children and we had a little argument. We'd just extend our pinkies and link them, and everything would be okay again.

I linked mine to his like we've done so many times and smiled up to him, relieved to find a smile on his face as well.

I hugged him once more, calmed by his scent and manly-ness. One hand held my head against his chest while the other pulled me against him from around my waist.

I let go and grabbed my laptop from his bed, handing it over to him with a bow. He chuckled.

"Very funny, Swan. As if I don't know you have an untraceable password on that thing," he grabbed it anyway and sat down at his desk.

I grabbed a chair from in front of his closet. It was used to keep the door open but it was more often than not situated underneath my butt.

"Damn, why can't I ever fool you," I jutted out my bottom lip and used my puppy-dog eyes. Only if they worked on him.

"You're incorrigible," he turned my face towards the laptop by my chin and I started typing.

~Stay~

"But Evan had just used that pen there and lost it, and now he's using the same one?"

"What makes you think he's using the same one? He could've just grabbed a new one,"

"No he couldn't. In chapter 7 you said he'd only brought one pen since his teacher had stolen his other one,"

"Oh, right,"

"You should either remove the thing about bringing only one pen, or that the teacher stole it,"

"Which do you think I should delete?"

"I kinda liked that the teacher stole his pen, I mean, it's happened to me before. First he asks if he can use my pen, he does and then he walks away with it. People could have a serious laugh about it. Just leave that in,"

"Okay, boss,"

"It's your book, okay? If you like the other option more, you should go with that one. I'm just here for emotional support and I have a clear view,"

"Thank you so much for helping me; I would've never seen this mistake because I've read it completely so many times already,"

"I know,"

~Stay~

Edward had started reading my book three weeks ago; he'd check a chapter a day and tell me to correct something if necessary. He'd never slipped up in front of our friends and the single doubt I had, had completely disappeared.

"Could you pass me another sample?" His voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Sure, which one did you do already?"

We were in our Biology class, one of the few classes we were sharing. Not only were we sharing the class, we were lab partners too.

"The left one," I pushed the glass with the onion root over to him while he was busy looking through the microscope. I took the time to ogle him. Edward had changed. A lot. It was like he went from a 17 year-old boy to a 17 year-old man in the time lapse of a couple of weeks. He used to be this skinny and lanky kid, and he grew out to be this muscular and lean man. I noticed only a week ago that many girls my age are watching him with open mouths, close to drooling. It makes me a little possessive; I don't want to lose my friend to any of those empty-headed cheerleaders.

_Yes, many of the oglers are cheerleaders._

I see now that he could indeed be considered handsome; the bronze colored hair and striking green eyes, his gentlemanly ways and that damned crooked smile. I'd never even looked at him that way before. Edward had always been cute; the little dimple in his right cheek that showed only when he was laughing so hard he'd cry, the chubby arms he used to have until the age of twelve that he claimed was "something to keep me from getting hurt when I fall", and last but not least _the hair_. The hair that had to be tamed once a month by a pair of scissors, and even then it wouldn't ever do what Edward wanted it to do.

I shook my head to try to remove the thoughts.

"Thanks for the breeze," he was talking about my hair causing a breeze of cold air to flow his way "but I'm pretty cold already. I appreciate it though," he chuckled while looking into the microscope observing the last sample.

The school said that to save expenses they had to cut on the heaters. My dad was a member of the PTA so I knew the real story; the heaters were broken and the school didn't have enough savings to repair them. They had advised the students and teachers to dress extra warmly.

_Because it's still Forks._

I liked the cold; the opportunity it gives you to snuggle in bed for a long time, or wear onesies and blankets in the house. Not to mention to cuddle up with a book in a loveseat watching how the backyard gets coated by a layer of white deliciousness. _That is until the snow would freeze to the ground and create a seemingly ever-lasting skating rink that I had to challenge every day to get to school; not so great when you're vertically challenged._

"Sorry," I apologized. I breathed into my hands, trying to warm them up. I'd forgotten my mittens at home and my hands were getting pretty numb. A week ago the cold had set in, and at that exact moment the heaters decided to quit.

"Come here," he motioned for me to put my hands in his after he'd removed his gloves from his hands. His hands were warm and his slender fingers were soft. I scooted my stool closer to his, making it easier to read and keep my hands warm at the same time. We read a part about the onion roots we were observing the samples of, while Edward rubbed my hands warm. It was really sweet of him, but that's just how he was.

"Can you hand me the tweezers?" Edward said. We had to grab a little diced piece of onion and put it next to the cells on the glass.

"Sure," I grabbed them, but two of my still numb finger tips were pricked by the sharp ends of the tweezers.

"Fuck," I scolded and put my fingers in my mouth.

"Let me look," he pried my fingers from my mouth. It immediately began to bleed again. Soon I felt a warm, thick liquid trickle down one of my fingers.

_Don't look, Bella. Don't fucking look._

"Mr. Banner, Bella pricked her finger and it's bleeding pretty badly," Edward called out.

_On 3, 2, 1, hyperventilating activated. _

_On 3, 2, 1, looking down at bloodied finger._

"Bella, don't look," Edward knew I couldn't stand blood. Mr. Banner came over quickly, anxious that _finally_ something exciting happened within these four boring walls.

"Edward, could you take Bella to see the nurse?"

"Sure, Bella come on," his voice faded away a little.

The only thing I could see was my bloodied finger, and the only thing I could feel was the trickle of the blood down my finger, over and over again.

"Bella!" Someone exclaimed when the darkness claimed me.

**A/N: Isn't he sweet? Warming up Bella's hands when they're cold? Aww, I need an Edward of my own. **

**Please tell me what you think :) ~Nathalie**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**Has anybody seen the pics or live streams of Rob at Cannes Filmfestival? I'm so proud of the amazing reviews The Rover got! I can't wait to see it myself!**

**I have decided on a posting schedule. It'll be two times a week. The exact days will differ, since it will depend on how much homework I have to do. Gotta love school.**

**This chapter is still unbeta'ed, I have been looking for a beta but there aren't many beta's active and it's hard to find someone who is.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, only this plot is mine ;)**

**Chapter 3**

**BPOV**

A cold washcloth was pressed against my forehead. I heard mumbling in the background, and at the same time my head started pounding immensely. I felt like I drank an entire bottle of vodka – not that I knew what that feels like – this is just what I imagined it to be like.

I pried my eyes open and I came face-to-face with a skeleton. As much as I hated blood, I could handle pretty much everything else. That's why I didn't even bat an eye.

"Bella!" An all too familiar voice exclaimed.

I palmed my forehead.

I didn't want to ask the most obvious question that everyone in a TV-series or movie asks, but I couldn't remember vividly, so I did it anyways.

"What happened?" The lights overhead looked like flames coming from the ceiling. Damn, headache.

I was lying on a too hard stretcher and I had to get my limbs working properly before I could sit up. I grabbed the wet washcloth from my forehead and laid it onto the cabinet next to the stretcher.

Edward sat down in a chair next to the stretcher and took my hand. I was only wearing my hoodie and jeans right now, while I used to be wearing a top, two hoodies, my jacket, mittens and my beanie. Strangely, I wasn't cold. The heater must've never broken in this building. The only things situated in this building were the nurse's office and some storage rooms. According to the teachers and parents it was a too long walk for the students from the larger buildings to have to do that to reach their classes.

"Guess what," Edward said, his lopsided grin appearing.

"Did I faint again?" He nodded.

"What was the cause this time? A cat falling from a tree, someone dropping his book or did you move your chair unexpectedly?"

_Did I mention I faint a lot? Well, I do._

"Neither," he chuckled. "Just a little blood," he continued.

I hated whenever I fainted. It would bring me unasked attention. I hated attention in general, but unasked attention was even worse.

"Come on, baby. The nurse said you could leave whenever you felt okay to do so. I'll drive you home," his caring and soothing self coming to peek out of its outer shell again.

The nurse I didn't even know the name of turned her head around the corner of her office.

"Bella, Edward will take you home,"

_Thanks captain obvious, but he'd already told me that. _

"You can take Tylenol for that nasty headache. Luckily Edward managed to grab you in the midst of your fall or you would've had to go to the emergency room," the nurse informed me. She was trying to make me worry less, but she didn't accomplish so well.

"Thanks?" for some sort of reason I made it sound like a question.

Edward lightly pulled on my arm, motioning for me to try to stand on both legs again. He gave me the pile of clothes which were nicely folded – OCD much? I chastely put them on and Edward put the beanie on my head, pushing some hair out of my face.

My legs were a bit wobbly, so I threw my arm around Edward's mid-section and he supported a part of my weight while walking out of the nurse's office.

"I could just stay at school, you know. I'm not an invalid," I breathed through my headache. It was actually getting worse.

"If you want to go to PE, be my guest. I'm not the one who just fainted. I believe coach Clapp said we were going to play volleyball," Edward raised an eyebrow at me, knowing how much I repelled volleyball and actually PE in general.

"Fine, take me home, sir,"

"Very well, madam,"

He opened the door and the cold from outside hit me in the face like a brick. A shiver ran through me.

Edward closed the door again before he put one arm behind my legs, the other supporting my back. And then I was in his arms. I snuggled close to his chest, not finding the power – or the will – to object to him carrying me. Like always, Edward had driven me to school, so we had no car trouble. With my head onto his chest, his heartbeat was loud, and oddly comforting. I breathed him in, enjoying the smell of boy and Edward. Nothing smelled like he did. I tried to snuggle even closer to his body, but I simply couldn't. All those damn layers of clothes were in the way. I craved his body warmth right now.

Way too soon we reached his car and he placed me in the passenger seat. He reached over me to the control panel and turned the heater on.

"I'm going to grab your stuff from your locker, okay? Just stay here, I'll be right back," he kissed my forehead I think, but I'm not even sure. I was too far gone already.

Before I knew it I was in Edwards arms again and I felt him reach to the side.

_We must be home already._

We had a key hidden underneath a little flower pot so I guess that's what he was moving so much for.

"Fuck," he whisper-yelled. I heard the unmistakably sound of something falling to the floor and breaking. I could imagine the shards of pottery falling into the white snow.

He balanced me in one arm and on one leg, and soon we were enveloped by warmth again. He laid me down on the couch en began to take off my clothes – except for the hoodie and jeans, no worries. Soon, I felt a blanket pulled over me which I knew was my gran's. She'd made me this one when I was 12 and I had loved it ever since.

"Hey Charlie, I just brought Bella home."

"Yeah, she fainted so the nurse had me bring her home."

"No, I can just stay. How long until Renée or you get home?"

"I'll skip PE, no biggie. I told Mrs. Cope that I was bringing Bella home and that she needed a slip for PE and she passed me one too so I'm fine."

"Okay, thanks Charlie," I assumed he hung up.

I fell into a deep slumber after that.

~Stay~

The sounds of the sports channel on TV evaded my ears, and the pounding became more annoying.

When I opened my eyes I saw Edward in dad's recliner, a bag of potato chips in his hands.

He stuffed his mouth full once a minute, _yes I checked._

I yawned once, which alerted Edward of the fact I was awake.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he mumbled through a mouth full of chips. Little parts were flying all over the place.

"There's some water and Tylenol," he pointed with a salty finger at the coffee table in front of me, where indeed was a glass with some tablets.

"Thanks," I grabbed the glass and a tablet and chugged it down.

Edward was watching baseball, a sport he enjoyed immensely but couldn't play himself after a shoulder injury. That happened when we were fifteen and he was devastated.

"How's your head?" he asked, a concerned frown appearing between his eyebrows. I stood up from the couch and pulled the blanket behind me. I grabbed the bag of chips from Edward's hands and he exclaimed a "Hey!" before I plopped down on his lap instead.

I pulled the blanket over the both of us and snuggled deep into his chest. I let out an inaudibly sigh.

_Way better without all those layers of clothes. _

Edward and I had always been the cuddle type, even though we were just friends, but I found myself more often wanting to cuddle with him. His arms came around me and he leaned his head on top of mine.

We sat like that for a while, before he grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.

"Hey, Bella," he broke the comfortable silence and lifted his head from mine.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Do you still want to study creative writing in college?"

"Of course I do. Why?" I raised my head from his chest and looked him in the eye.

"I was just thinking –" Edward started, but I interrupted him.

"Did it hurt?" He grinned and pinched my leg underneath the blanket.

"Auch! Edward!"

"What? You're mentally hurting me so I hurt you physically, it's only fair,"

"Very funny. Now, continue,"

"Right. I was just wondering if, you know, I was just wondering which school you want to go to."

I was actually quite sad to hear he didn't assume we were going to the same school together.

We'd always had that as a plan.

_Now, why isn't he looking at me?_

He wasn't, he was looking everywhere except at me. His fingers were playing with the hem of the quilt. I grabbed his hand in order to get his attention up to my face.

"I don't care where I'm going, okay? This may sound sappy, but I'm going wherever you are. I don't want to be without my best friend," I grabbed his hand and held it to my cheek.

"Okay," he breathed but I saw something flash across his features, something I didn't recognize. He pulled my head to his chest again and started playing with my fingers.

I couldn't help but feel like our relationship was changing. We weren't pulling away from each other, but we weren't getting closer per se either.

That was the last day everything had been normal for a long time.

My parents came home and asked if everything was okay with me and if Edward wanted to stay for dinner. He politely declined and left.

I didn't hear from him that day anymore, whereas we'd normally chat or text at night.

Instead, I sat with my parents and brother and we watched a comedy. Except it wasn't funny at all, not for me at least. Emmett had tears in his eyes from laughing, but I couldn't even get a little honest smile on my face.

Before the movie was even over I had made my way upstairs and collapsed onto my bed, not waking up until my alarm went off.

I did my normal routine, except the doorbell didn't ring at the time it normally did. Edward was always on time, emphasis on always.

Emmett always left before me so he could pick up his girlfriend to give her a ride to school, but when Edward was a no-show I called Em and he picked me up regardless.

Both Em and Rosalie – Emmett's girlfriend – had no idea where Edward was, and when I arrived at school he wasn't there either. I called him and left messages on his voicemail, but he never returned any of my calls. For all I knew he could've driven off a cliff.

I called the Cullen household, but again, no one answered. That wasn't weird at all since Esme and Carlisle both had a fulltime job, but that meant Edward wasn't home either.

He returned to school two weeks later and in the meantime I hadn't heard a thing from him. The day he returned he hadn't come to pick me up, nor had he even acknowledged me when I walked toward him in the parking lot.

He shocked the hell out of me when he walked around the car to the passenger seat, opened the door, and helped a beautiful brown-haired girl from the car. She was shorter than I was and her hair was longer and shinier than mine, a heart-shaped face on top of her slender body. She grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers.

A permanent expression of shock was plastered onto my face, and I felt rejected. My best friend had dumbed me for a new girl. She was better than I was apparently, and she deserved to get a ride to school while I didn't.

I had seen that whenever he looked at me a scowl was etched into his face, something I wasn't used to with him.

When I approached him in the hallway – he was standing with the girl again – he turned his back to me.

The first time I could actually encounter him was in our biology class, where we were still lab partners.

In the two weeks Edward had been absent the heaters had been replaced, so our jackets, mittens and beanies could be left at home. That didn't stop Edward from wearing a beanie, covering his messy bronze hair. He was wearing a black leather jacket with black dr. marten's boots, a combination I had never seen him wear before.

"Do you feel too good to talk to me, or something?"

We were watching a documentary on the division of cells, which was explained in the book already so I didn't need it and I doubted Edward would since he'd always been good at biology.

"Some of us actually would like to pay attention. Don't judge me for not talking to you right now," he sneered at me.

I had no idea what I had done wrong. Ever since that day I fainted he'd been acting weird, not to mention he disappeared from the face of the earth for two whole weeks!

"Please enlighten me about what the fuck I did wrong. In my book I didn't do anything to deserve this treatment from you," I whispered angrily. I began to analyze everything I said that day, what I might have written in my book that could've set Edward off but I came up with nothing.

At that particular moment the bell decided to ring to indicate that class had finished. Edward shoved his stuff into his bag, threw it over his shoulder and practically ran out of the classroom. In the meantime I hadn't even managed to close my book.

After he'd left I managed to do it all, and when I exited the classroom I ran straight into someone. I recognized his scent immediately and I threw my arms around his waist.

"Hey, what's up, little sis?" Emmett rubbed my back with his hand.

"Can you take me home, please?" My eyes were misty, and I knew I was close to sobbing.

"Uh, sure, are you okay?" He pulled me back by my arms and looked at my face.

I nodded uncertainly. He didn't look convinced but he must've seen a reason to leave it alone. We went to Mr. Cope's office, she signed our slips, and we took off in Emmett's Jeep.

When I came home, I collapsed onto my bed and had a full out panic attack with hyperventilation and all. I fell asleep after and didn't wake up until I felt a heavy body next to mine. I hugged Emmett, and he told me that everything would be okay, whatever it might be.

I didn't believe him.

**A/N:**

**It's a little angsty right now, but it will get worse before it gets better before it will get worse and better again ;P **

**I'm definitely planning on a HEA.**

**Please tell me what you think **

**~ X Nathalie**


	5. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_

_**Hello! As you can see this is a longer chapter, 1,500 words extra ;) **_

_**This was quite easy to write, it almost wrote itself and I'm feeling quite accomplished with the end result.**_

_**I hope you guys are happy with it too of course ;) **_

_**All the mistakes are mine.**_

_**This chapter is again unbeta'ed, since I haven't found a beta still. (If you know anyone who might be interested in beta'ing Stay, or if you'd like to yourself, please let me know)**_

_**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to the amazing and talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**I'm just playing with the characters she created. The plot actually is mine though :) I'd always wanted to say that lol.**_

_**Now, on to the story!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 4**

**BPOV**

The following week was much of the same. I'd try to get in contact with the usual happy and content Edward, but he'd now turned into a permanent ghost of his previous self. Not to mention a beautiful – but weak – looking girl permanently glued to his side.

And when I mean glued, I mean _glued_. There wasn't a moment where they weren't touching. It were very innocent touches, but they were still touches. I often found them with their hands in each other's, Edwards arm thrown around her shoulders or an arm wrapped around the girl's slender waist.

I hadn't seen her in anything different than hoodies, in several dark colors. The too large clothes managed to hide her body pretty well, but not well enough. I knew that if I had a body like hers, I'd show it off instead of wrapping it up in uncountable layers of thick fabric.

Instead of sitting with Edward and the rest of our friends during lunch, I made the decision to go and join my brother and his friends. Let's just say they didn't particularly mind. Rosalie I knew pretty well, since she often came over, just like her brother Jasper who was great friends with Emmett. Not to mention Edward too. Albeit the age difference, Edward was a good friend of the people I was sitting with. They were mostly football players; the party-hardy and "I'm da bomb" kind.

I was currently sitting next to Mike, a senior who showed obvious interest in me. I blew him off – no pun intended – several times, but the guy couldn't take a hint. Right now I felt his stare burn in the side of my face, but I pretended to be oblivious to it and paid attention to my tray full of food. Emmett bought me this every day ever since I had quit having lunch two weeks ago, but I couldn't swallow even one bite without gagging. This morning I had weighted myself, and I had lost 5 pounds compared to the previous week.

"Sis, eat," Emmett said with authority.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Don't roll your fucking eyes at me," he was getting angry now.

"You're not my goddamn mom, Emmett! I have one at home and she's perfectly capable of taking care of me. You should know since she's your fucking mom too!"

Emmett was sitting next to Mike, and I saw Mike sink lower into his chair to pretend like he wasn't there.

_Seriously, Newton pretending like he isn't present somewhere? Impressive. _

"Don't fucking talk that way! Everybody has fucking seen you lose weight for these past few weeks! Your bones are more pronounced and you have serious bags under your eyes! I'm just looking out for you!"

Emmett emphasized his point by prodding his finger into my side. Newton sank even lower into his chair.

In the meantime, the entire cafeteria had quieted down and everyone was watching the show Emmett and I put up for them.

I felt a lone tear roll down my cheek, and I wiped it hastily away with my sleeve.

I stood up from the chair, which made it fall backwards and stomped out of the cafeteria. But not after seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of my friends, including Edward.

I ran to the closest bathroom and locked myself in one of the stalls before letting my tears fall freely.

I sat there for God knows how long before the soft paddling of feet came closer to the entrance of the bathroom. Before long the door had opened and the feet came to a stop in front of the stall I was hidden in.

I had put the toilet seat down, and had my knees drawn to my chest.

"Bella," a soft voice called out.

I recognized it immediately – Angela.

I wanted to put up a fight, or at least ignore her but I couldn't find it in me to actually do that.

I unlocked the door and I walked out, wiping my fingers beneath my eyes to check for any traces of mascara where it shouldn't be. I wasn't usually this emotional, but again I couldn't find it in me to care.

Angela gently rubbed my arm.

"Are you okay, Bella? Everyone's really worried about you," Angela informed me. I couldn't care less since the person I wanted to care, still didn't.

"I'm fine, just a little embarrassed. That's all," I made a move to the exit but Angela jumped in front of me.

"What's going on between you and Edward? I haven't seen you spend any time together lately," her voice was slow and soft.

"I know. We just wanted some separation, no biggie," I tried to lie, but unfortunately Angela saw right through me.

She dragged me by my elbow through the door of the bathroom and through the double doors of our school entrance to a nearby picnic table, only used when the weather allowed so which was only a few times per year.

"Spill," she didn't even mention the fact that she didn't believe me.

Let's just say I spilled. I spilled the information to Angela, and I couldn't help but spill some more tears too.

"Bella, you two should talk. I'm sure it's nothing big, just a misunderstanding," she tried to reassure me while pushing some hair out of my face. I was looking at my hands, inspecting them and printing them into my mind for some unknown reason.

"Then how do you explain the girlfriend?" I turned my face to Angela's and I could read some shock in her features.

"Oh, Bella, Bree isn't his girlfriend. They're family, but Bree had some issues at home so she decided to stay with the Cullens for a while," she practically breathed it, her voice was so soft.

"W-what?" I managed to say.

Forming words while being absolutely shocked is a big achievement I reckon.

"I don't know the entire story; just that Bree had some problems with some people in Portland which she couldn't take anymore so she transferred here for the semester,"

I could now only suck up the information and deal with it later.

At that exact moment, the school bell rung.

"Thanks, Angela. I'm gonna head to class," I wiped my cheeks once again, straightened my clothes and walked away. 

"Everything will be fine. Everything has a happily ever after, Bella," Angela yelled from behind me. I turned towards her for a final time and was met with a gentle smile.

"Thanks," I whispered. I'm sure she heard me though, because a greater smile appeared on her soft features. Pretty much everything about Angela was soft, as you might have noticed.

I entered the school and the hot air enveloped me and soon I was warmed up again.

I was going to the class which I used to love, but now dreaded the most; biology.

I took my seat and used my hair as a curtain between Edward and me. I did not want to have any type of conversation right now. I wanted to go home and lie underneath a dozen of blankets with some music and a good book.

"Hey," sure enough, he did felt like making conversation. If he could ignore me for two whole weeks, why couldn't I ignore him for the 2 hours we still had left? So, I ignored him.

The class continued and Edward had apparently taken a hint.

_Please, teach Mike to do so too._

But soon my security blanket – or previously called the curtain of hair – was moved and I could see his face in my periphery.

_Damn, I spoke to early. _

"Are you okay, Bella?" his concerned voice whispered.

"Fine," I replied and pulled my hair back from his grip.

Nothing was said again that hour, to my great relief.

That night was a whole other matter though.

I was peacefully lying on my bed – without the promised dozens of blankets, I had instead climbed underneath my fluffy duvet – reading a book while listening to some classical music; Claire de Lune by Debussy.

"Bella, sweetie!" was called from downstairs.

I climbed out from underneath my duvet, closed it to keep the heat underneath it, and opened my locked door.

I walked downstairs and was met with a tall boy I recognized all too well.

I stopped on the stairs with only two steps to go, to make up for some height difference. I didn't know if it would come to a face-off, but I didn't already wanted to be on a lower level than him. _Figuratively speaking, of course. _

I awkwardly scratched my nose and waited for him to say anything.

"Uhh," he scraped his throat. "Hi," he continued.

_Wow, that's an anti-climax._

"Hi," my voice was hoarse too, but I didn't want to scrape it because he already did.

_Hey, don't judge, I got my pride to protect._

"Can – can we talk," he requested it more than asked, which made it for me impossible to deny.

_Not that I wanted to._

He sounded like his kitten just died, which couldn't be true since I knew he didn't have any pets.

"Uh, sure. You want to come up to my room?" I sounded too insecure; I was desperate to get some strength back into my voice.

_Come on, Bella. Don't let him walk all over you. You're a strong and independent woman and you can take on his sorry ass if necessary. _

_Okay, I take that back but you do have your way with words so kick some ass! _

_Edwards preferably! _

He nodded and followed me up the stairs. I was wearing a very large hoodie from Emmett.

Why I didn't wear my own clothes? Because the gigantic size of Emmett's hoodie gave me more room to snuggle in.

I opened the door, and Edward closed it behind him. I sat down on my duvet-covered bed. It was very tempting to just crawl underneath the blanket of heat, but it would create some awkwardness I did not need.

"So," Edward started.

I saw he looked everywhere except for directly at me.

I think he had seen the entire room three times before he finally continued. I just kept seated on my bed, as Edward was nervously walking up and down the length of my room.

"I don't really know where to start,"

Cue fire, Bella.

"Fucking start at why I'm suddenly not good enough for you," I internally fist pumped the air.

_Great start, Bella! Don't ever let boys get you down! He hurt you? Well, you hurt him too!_

"I never said that," I hated that he sounded so tired and weak. I wanted him to fight back, to fight _me. _

"No, you only ignored me for over two weeks and replaced me with some other girl like I mean nothing to you," I lowered my voice a little, not wanting my parents to hear the conversation we were having.

"I didn't replace you," his voice was so damn soft I wasn't even a 100% sure that's what he said.

"Edward, stop with the pity play and tell me what the fuck happened. Did I do something wrong? Am I not good enough? Just enlighten me because I have no idea why you're suddenly ignoring me! I know I need you as my best friend, and unless you give me a conventional reason as to why you suddenly ignored me, I think I'm going to ignore you too and find someone else to hang out with," that last one was a full-out lie, but I wanted him to know that I didn't appreciate how he handled things at all.

He walked over to me and asked with his eyes if he could sit down. I nodded and he did. I moved away a little to create some distance.

"Just let me explain, okay? This hurt me as much as it hurt you,"

I chuckled. "It did, huh? Then why would you continue? I didn't do anything to ignite this fire of hate,"

"You hate me now?"

"No, you just . . . you know what I mean. But don't change the subject! Go on, explain Mr. I-Can-Explain-It-All-So-You-Will-Forgive-Me,"

_I need a shorter name for him. I'll fall over my own words if I have to say that two times in one sentence; that's not convincing enough in a heated argument._

"Where do you want me to start?" He was sitting straighter now for a reason that stayed unknown to me.

"I don't know! Just tell me where the beginning is!" I was getting aggravated.

"Okay, chill. It's like you're about to chop my head off or something,"

I distanced my index-finger from my thumb for a centimeter to indicate how close he was to actually getting that treatment. I saw him swallow in response.

_I think I'm getting through that thick skull of him! Yay me! _

"It's really stupid, I see that now,"

"Edward," I warned him. I wanted him to get to the point already!

"Remember when we were talking about college, about which school you wanted to attend?"

I nodded in response.

"You said that you were going anywhere I wanted to go, right?"

I nodded again.

"I know you want to do creative writing or something else which will help you reach the level you want to be at,"

He took a deep breath.

"I want to go to Juilliard," he rushed out in that one breath.

"W - What?" I stammered.

"There's this great music program I want to get into and I send an application and tried out and they said they wanted to have me next year,"

I knew Edward loved his music. God, I loved his music too. But I never knew that he actually wanted to pursue it.

"Why didn't you tell me? You knew I would've fully supported you, right?"

"Of course I know that. It's just that Juilliard is so far away from here, and I don't want you to follow me there just because of me. There are great writer's programs here, and the one at Julliard wasn't recommended as the best. So I thought that I would distance myself a bit from you, and hopefully you'd follow your dreams just like me," he raised his head at me and looked me in the eye.

His emerald-colored eyes were disarming and my undoing.

I shifted my body 90 degrees and faced him.

"Edward," I grabbed his hand in mine and started playing with his fingers, not wanting to look up at him.

"How am I supposed to let you go for 4 years, to only see you during Thanksgiving and Christmas if I can't even have you ignore me for a couple of weeks?" I still hadn't looked up and I wasn't planning on doing so either.

I shook my head and smirked sadly.

_One can totally do that by the way, smirking in a sad way. _

"I can't, Edward. You might find me dependent, which I am. I admit that. But you're the one I can tell everything. I have no one other than you to talk about everything. I hate that I can't tell you to go without me to pursue your dreams, because the thing is; they're my dreams too,"

He grabbed my arms and laid them around his neck. I got his intention and weaved them behind his neck and threw my head into the crook.

"Edward, you really are my best friend,"

Already the thought of losing him hurt.

"You're my best friend too, Bella,"

We both sighed out of satisfaction. Like I said before, we didn't mind cuddling together and two weeks without a single touch had to be made up for.

I slowly removed my arms from around his neck after a few minutes.

I wanted to know so more about a particular female who caught my attention, as well as Edward's.

"I have one more question,"

"Shoot," I saw that he had relaxed, but I had no doubt some tension would appear after I asked my question.

"What's with that girl who's permanently touching you?"

_Cue the tension._

I didn't use her name purposefully, wanting him to tell me the entire story himself. I didn't want to give away I already knew some from a third party.

He scratched the back of his neck with his hand and then dragged his hand through his messy hair.

"Uh, she's my cousin. She's from Portland but had some issues there so she transferred to Forks High," the story Angela told me was the exact same one, but I wanted details.

"Why is she touching you like she's in a relationship with you?" I decided to just cut straight to the case.

I didn't want to sound jealous – not that I was – but I believe I still did.

"Aw, little Swan, are you jealous?" He mocked me and poked me in the side.

"No, I'm just curious. There's nothing wrong with a healthy amount of curiosity,"

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone," he was being serious. Here I was thinking he trusted me.

I tilted my head slightly and looked him in the eye, hard expression.

"Right, stupid remark,"

I nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"A few months ago, she had a boyfriend named Riley and she got pregnant. She didn't find out until she was 12 weeks pregnant and immediately told him. He threw some cash at her, told her it was for an abortion and made a promise to disappear out of her life. He kept his promise, but she didn't pursue the abortion. She told her parents; they were mad of course but they were going to support her. On the way to the hospital for a check-up she miscarried. The entire school found out and they spray-painted her locker and surrounding walls about what a whore she was, getting knocked up while in high school. Her friends betrayed her, and she was seriously bullied. That's when she decided it would be better to leave Portland for a while, and mom and dad offered to take her in. She's planning on returning to Portland after everything cooled down a bit, but I don't know if she's actually going to do that.

"About the touching thing, she has some trouble trusting people now. I only agree with it because she's been through a lot of shit, and I try to help her,"

Safe to say; I had not expected something like that.

I had expected something like the Tanya affair one year ago; a girl who was desperate to get Edwards attention so she called him nicknames like 'Eddie' and 'Eddiekins' which he wasn't so fond of, and touched him constantly.

Nothing had prepared me for this news of her being a damaged girl, bullied so badly she felt the need to go away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I just assumed -" he quieted me by saying 'hush'.

"I know you did, and I understand why you did. It's just not true," he smiled softly, his signature smirk appearing.

"Okay," I lost myself into the depth of his beautiful green eyes. The contrast between his bronze hair and the emerald eyes were a God's gift. I loathed it when people called him a ginger, didn't they see that his hair was bronze – not red?

"By the way," he pulled me from my thoughts. "I read some more chapters and wrote down some notes. You want to discuss them now?" He pulled a notebook from the bag I hadn't noticed before.

"Uhm, sure," I scratched my forehead and looked around at my room.

_Shit! Why didn't I burst the bubble my mind apparently was occupying and looked at my damn surroundings!_

I saw several bras thrown over my chair and some jeans and shirts were covering the floor. Not to mention the CD's. The cd's were lying scattered over several spots in my room, two on the floor with one balancing against the wall and three others on my drawers. The only place in my room that wasn't a mess was the ceiling.

I scraped my throat to diverse the attention from my room.

I thought that cleaning the shit up now would be even more embarrassing. Not that Edward had never seen any of my bras before, hell he even saw me wearing them several times.

_I mean without any other clothes, you know._

_It's not what you think, I just exited the bathroom in only my underwear and Edward was just there! Also, while camping we had to share a tent and completely dressing myself in the sleeping bag was close to impossible so I opted for Edwards eyes instead. _

He swallowed and I looked at how his Adams apple bobbed up and down.

"Uh, here," he handed me the notebook and I opened it to the page the bookmark was in.

For the next two hours we discussed the notes he made about my book and we talked about everything that had happened while we were separated; which was, obviously, not very exciting.

"Bella, what is this?" he smirked and chuckled, his eyes warm and almost liquid.

"What?" I asked and inched closer to the screen he was pointing at.

There it was; it clearly stood there. _Fuck. _

_**A/N: **_

_**What did Bella do? Any ideas/theories? ;) **_

_**Hope you liked the chapter, please tell me what you think and I'd love to hear your theories. **_

_**~Nathalie **_


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

**Hi! I'm back with a brand-new chappy! I finished it Saturday already, but I wasn't happy with it so I decided against posting it until I had rewritten certain parts. I'm okay with it now.**

**The chapter is unbeta'ed, all mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just playing with the things she created. Evan and Hope are mine, though ;)**

**Now let's get to reading! **

_**Previously on Stay:**_

_For the next two hours we discussed the notes he made about my book and we talked about everything that had happened while we were separated; which was, obviously, not very exciting. _

"_Bella, what is this?" he smirked and chuckled, his eyes warm and almost liquid._

"_What?" I asked and inched closer to the screen he was pointing at. _

_There it was; it clearly stood there. Fuck. _

**Chapter 5**

**BPOV**

I have no idea how it came there.

_I seriously can't remember. Was I on the phone with him right then or something? Sounds logical, let's go with that one. _

A smirk appeared on his face and his beautiful and fluid green eyes had happy wrinkles on the sides.

He looked confident and emphasized it by supporting his head with his fist.

"Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing, you asshole! We were probably just on the phone and I typed your name instead of Evan's. No biggie," I pulled the arm that was supporting his head out from underneath his head. He had not anticipated that; win for me.

"Aww Bellie, you're all red! Perfect imitation of a tomato! You should apply for next year's play for the part of tomato," he poked me in the side. The name he used had been his and Emmett's nickname for me since we were little. I could only take it from Emmett since I shared his genes, but Edward didn't have the right to call me that at all.

"Don't look so smug! You make a bigger deal out of this then it actually is! And for fuck's sake, stop calling me Bellie!"

The smirk didn't evaporate and I got drunk in his eyes. His eyes were like beautiful black stones swimming in a green ocean of love and enjoyment. We stared into each other's eyes for an immeasurable amount of time.

_I call bullshit, it was just a few seconds but it seemed like so much longer._

I gave him a soft kick to the shin which he hadn't seen coming so he stumbled from the chair. That gave me an opportunity to grab my laptop and change Edward's name into Evan's.

_They just both start with E's, that's probably it. _

It didn't miss my notice that my mistake was made in a heavy make-out session between the main characters.

_Just ignore it and move on, Bella. It's not like you wrote a lemon and let Hope scream Edward's name instead of Evan's. Now, THAT would have been embarrassing. This is nothing. _

I shook my head to get rid of those disturbing thoughts.

I looked to my side to find Edward still clutching the shin I kicked a minute ago.

"Ah come on, Edward. It wasn't more than a little touch. Grow up," I commented and began to read further.

"Aw Bella, you flatter me with your apologies. Oh wait, I haven't heard one," the sarcasm dripping from his words.

I closed my laptop with finality and sighed.

"I'm bored, let's do something else," I stood from my chair and threw myself face-first on my bed.

Edward followed and threw his body on top of mine, which landed us in a very awkward position. His face was in the crook of my neck and his arms were around my midsection.

"Uh, Edward. What are you doing?" I said into my pillow.

"What does it look like? Or rather feel like in your case," he chuckled.

"It feels like your enormous body is trying to crunch my little cutie booty,"

"I can feel the love, cutie booty Swan. But now, this is what humans call display of affection,"

"Lying on top of each other so that the bottom one can barely breathe? So much fun," sarcasm was my second language next to English which was often, if not mostly, used.

"You know you love me," I could hear the smile in his voice and he kissed my cheek before crawling off of me.

My cheek felt like it could burst into flames in any second, which was weird since he had done that before and then I hadn't felt a thing apart from appreciation.

"So what would you like to do?" He was now lying on the floor, his left arm lying across his face.

I grabbed a pillow and hit him with it in the stomach. According to him I might have strength, but honestly, I don't.

He groaned.

"You weakling! That pillow barely even touched you!" Edward grabbed a throw pillow from my windowsill, stood up and crossed the room until he collapsed on top of me. He was straddling me and tickling my sides, something I could not endure at all.

"Edward! Stop!" I was laughing and hitting him at the same time.

He threw the pillow to the side, grabbed my wrists and held them above my head.

"Sorry, I just couldn't handle your, and I quote, 'little cutie booty'," he grinned mischievously.

"Hey Bells, I was wondering –" My door opened and my dear brother barged in.

He looked astonished and for a moment I couldn't think of why he'd look that way and then I remembered Edward and I's position.

I pushed Edward away from me and was met with a look of rejection which I didn't understand.

I turned to Emmett. He was wearing a black hoodie which read Swan in capital letters on the back. I knew because our entire family had one of those hoodies and I often stole this particular one from Emmett.

"Are you going to finish your sentence or what?" My legs were crossed and I was trying to look bored although I felt my cheeks heating up quickly.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he grinned devilishly and his dimples appeared.

_So not fair that everyone in our family has those cute dimples and I only have one!_

"I have this certain feeling that you didn't come to barge in, without knocking may I add, and ask if you were interrupting anything," I was purposefully ignoring Edward now, who was seated behind me.

From my periphery I could see him as red as the tomato he wanted me to play in the school play and he was trying to hide it by reading the problem pages from one of my magazines.

"Not so spry little sis," he mocked and pointed his index finger at me. I raised both my hands in a sign of surrender.

"I'll leave you two alone now to continue with whatever not so innocent act you were about to perform," and with that he left and I was just a fraction too late with throwing my pillow which hit the door instead of Emmett's head.

_My aim is improving; normally I wouldn't even have come close to hitting that door._

I heard him snickering through the door so I made the effort and yelled some profanities at him.

"Isabella Marie! Language!" my mom scolded me from the washroom she was apparently occupying.

Does this mean she saw? O God, please not.

"Sorry mom!" I yelled back.

I turned back to Edward and decided at that very moment that I'd just ignore whatever current just occurred between us.

"Would you like to go to the meadow with me?" I asked in my perfectly behaved voice.

"Of course, ma'am," he replied and held out his hand for me to take as he stood from the bed.

"Wanna stop at my house to grab my guitar?" I nodded in reply and we left after grabbing keys and my jacket.

~Stay~

_Say something I'm giving up on you  
I' ll be the one if you want me to  
Anywhere I would have followed you  
Say something I'm giving up on you_

Edward was playing the guitar to the original piano notes and singing the first part with his beautiful and warm but a little hoarse male voice.

He nodded at me to join in. We sang together, transforming the eerie silence of the meadow into a by flowers covered musical performance.__

And I, I'm feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I want nothing at all  
And I, will stumble and fall  
I'm still learning to love  
Just starting to crawl

Say something I'm giving up on you  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
Anywhere I would have followed you  
Say something I'm giving up on you

And I will swallow my pride  
You' re the one that I love  
And I'm saying goodbye

Say something I'm giving up on you  
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
And anywhere I would have followed you  
Oooooh  
Say something I'm giving up on you

Say something I'm giving up on you  
Say something… _*******_

The birds had stopped singing, Edward had stopped playing and both our voices had stopped breathing words.

We had sung this particular song only a few times before, but every time we did it I felt so loved but empty at the same time.

As usual we stuck our heads together – in the literal sense – and connected through our foreheads.

The guitar lay all but forgotten on the flowerbeds. The song had this as a natural reaction to us.

Suddenly a loud noise shocked us out of our reverie.

"Phone," I mumbled.

I grabbed it and was met with a text from my mom that dinner was about to get served.

"Mom said we're about to have dinner, so I have to go. Are you coming too or are you gonna stay for a while?" I stood and collected the few items I had brought such as my jacket, keys and a blanket. The red and black blanked I held underneath my arm, ready to go.

I dragged a hand through my long dark brown locks, getting them out of my face.

"I'm gonna stay for a while, be careful on your way down," he looked down at his guitar and began strumming softly.

"Okay, I will. Text me when you get home, okay?" I bent down and kissed his cheek softly as he'd done with me earlier.

I walked away but turned around when I was met with thick forest at the edge of the meadow and I saw Edward looking up into the sky, both hands in his hair, fingers knotted through his bronze locks.

I had felt this feeling before; the feeling that everything between us was changing. Did I want it to change? I had no idea.

I walked downhill, stumbling over a few fallen branches along the way but saved myself from any severe injuries.

I could see the road come into view and noticed with a shock that my cheeks were wet. I looked up into the sky, but my thoughts were confirmed when I only saw a light gray cloud bag, nothing that carried any rain; I was crying.

I hastily wiped them away, but found that only more tears were dropping down. I walked through the few streets the town of Forks had on my way home, but decided against actually going home.

I took a right and came face-to-face with thick forest again. I entered it and walked a couple of feet before throwing the blanket down with force and sitting on it.

I had no idea what I was crying about. All I knew is that right now I couldn't stop and that I didn't even want to so I sobbed for what felt like a few hours.

I had turned my phone off and rested my head against a tree, closing my eyes.

When I reopened them again it was dark. Either the weather had turned for the worse or I had actually fallen asleep and it was now late at night. My face felt unmovable by the dried tears that had reached practically everywhere but my forehead. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket – which had stopped my blood regulation through my ass apparently because it was numb.

I turned it on and several messages appeared. Emmett had called me about twenty times in a time span of 4 hours, just like my mom, dad and Edward. Rosalie's name and the Cullen household's phone number appeared a few times on the lit screen as well.

I choose against notifying anyone of my return back to this world, grabbed my blanket once again and walked out of the forest with a confident stride.

A lot I had expected, people running around and searching for me by screaming my name, maybe even my face and name on a milk carton – alright that's a slight exaggeration.

But what I didn't expect was to see a cop car parked in front of my house with about 30 people around it holding a map. Neither had I expected my mom in tears and Edward and Emmett biting their nails while sitting in chairs next to said map.

It was raining slightly now and the headlights illuminated beautifully against the off-white house I was living in.

"Charlie! Renée! There she is!" A man named Waylon Forbs called out and pointed at me. I knew he was from the police force and had been a family friend for years now.

Four people came running for me, and I took a step back because of the impact it was bound to cause. It didn't because they all stopped a few feet in front of me and hugged me one by one, except for my parents who hugged me at the same time.

"Where were you, Bella? We have been looking everywhere for you!" My mom closed me in her arms and cried hysterically. My dad was soothingly stroking both my mom's and mine's back.

Soon two large arms wrapped around us all and Emmett joined in on the hug.

"Come on, Bellie. Why did you do that to us?" His voice thick with emotion, which happened _very _rarely.

"Sorry, I had just fallen asleep," I apologized quietly.

They let me go and all wiped their eyes on cue as if someone had said: "Wipe!"

Edward walked closer and gave me a bone crushing hug, his head atop of mine.

"I blamed myself for letting you go alone. If you hadn't come back, God Bella, I don't know what I would've done," I felt a drop of water, or a tear, fall on my head. He kissed me once on the forehead and I reveled in the feeling.

"I'm sorry guys but luckily it was a false alarm," dad yelled at the search party that had gathered around the cruiser.

People came to me saying that they were happy to have me back as if I'd been gone for two months to Asia or something.

My mom had put the soaked blanket around me with no idea that this would only make me feel colder, and kept rubbing my arm.

"Let's get you inside, sweetie," my mom said.

My parents, Emmett, Edward, Waylon and Carlisle came into the house. Carlisle was both Edward's father and my doctor so he checked me for any injuries. Apart from my low body temperature due to the rain and the soaked blanket, I was fine and he told me to just go put some dry clothes on after a hot shower.

I did and my parents served coffee to our guests. When I came back in my room Edward was on my bed reading the book I'd been currently reading.

"Have you warmed up a little?" I nodded and crawled under the covers after Edward had moved over a little.

"So if I'm right this is about a guy who is a vampire of 109 years but doesn't consume any human blood, but only from animals and to top that all off he sparkles in the sunlight? Please," he huffed.

"Hey, don't hate on Snow at Dawn. If you came out from underneath your rock you would have known that this is a perfectly fine love story adored by loads of females and several males too," I stole the battered copy from him and put it on the floor next to my bed. It had been read so many times that the cover couldn't be saved anymore. My mom said I should get a new copy, but this one held memories of reading it while sitting on the windowsill with a blanket and hot chocolate in my hands. Even though I had spilled some of said hot chocolate over the book; it made it even more important for me. I couldn't live without that copy and its memories.

I moved my hands together in a way to generate heat and Edward caught on. He took off his shoes and crawled into my bed with me. He grabbed my icy hands in his warm ones and breathed them warm.

I melted a little.

I looked at him with an expression that reflected in his eyes too

I believed I saw what I felt in his eyes too, but it could've been my mind betraying me. He abandoned my hands and cupped my face. The heat of his skin, the current passing through us and my still cool skin formed a contrast that felt like fire and ice; both powerful and at the same time so innocent.

His face slowly came closer, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. To a certain extend he did; his lips touched my forehead with care and left a smoldering kiss there. He then moved me so that my head was tucked underneath his chin and my face was buried in his chest. I grabbed hold of his shirt and relaxed.

Would I have minded if he kissed me? Would I have pushed him away? Would I have welcomed it?

One thing I did welcome, and that was the sleep that took me. I felt so safe and sound in Edward's arms. His scent calmed me in a way nothing else could. I couldn't help but think back to his face when he saw me again after I had left him in the meadow to go on my unintended adventure. Was it just friendship or might it have been more?

I sighed contently and fell into a deep and restful slumber.

**A/N:**

**I think I gave a subtle hint as to what book I was referring to. I hope you noticed ;p**

**The thing about the battered copy is actually true. I have Twilight 3 times, but read the movie cover version in English about 8 times or so and a lot of shit has happened to it, but I can't find it in me to replace it. Also, it has been on three continents so that's just irreplaceable. **

*****The song Bellward sang was Say Something by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera. The song doesn't belong to me; I only used the lyrics because I think this song fits the theme perfectly. **

**I hope you liked it, please reviewww! I'd love you very much if you did :D Not that I don't otherwise, but you know what I mean. **

**~Nathalie **


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: **

**Hello my dear readers! I'm sorry it took me so long to update! **

**Last Tuesday was the release of the final installment in the Mortal Instrument series; City of Heavenly Fire. I got it in the mail that day and I wanted to read it immediately. The beast was 725 pages so I didn't have any time to write this chapter. But I did after I finished it yaay :). The book was amazing and had a fitting ending, so I recommend the series to anybody who likes their fair share of science-fiction ;) **

**Okay now onto this chapter. It's a filling chapter, but some nice events happen which will also have impact on the future chapters, so I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight doesn't belong to me in any way ( ). I'm just playing with what the lovely Stephenie Meyer created. **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed. All mistakes are mine. **

**Have fun reading! And please review! **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Previously on Stay:**_

_His face slowly came closer, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. To a certain extend he did; his lips touched my forehead with care and left a smoldering kiss there. He then moved me so that my head was tucked underneath his chin and my face was buried in his chest. I grabbed hold of his shirt and relaxed._

_Would I have minded if he kissed me? Would I have pushed him away? Would I have welcomed it? _

_One thing I did welcome, and that was the sleep that took me. I felt so safe and sound in Edward's arms. His scent calmed me in a way nothing else could. I couldn't help but think back to his face when he saw me again after I had left him in the meadow to go on my unintended adventure. Was it just friendship or might it have been more? _

_I sighed contently and fell into a deep and restful slumber. _

**Chapter 6**

**BPOV**

I woke that night several times, and each time we were in a different position. He had spooned me for most of the night which was surprisingly good. His warm breath on my neck, his arm protectively around my waist and his legs intertwined with mine. Right now we were back at where we started and I was watching his peaceful and sleeping face.

His dark eyelashes feathered on his soft cheeks and a little crease had appeared between his eyebrows. I moved my hand to smooth it out and it did. The arm around my waist tightened a little, but not uncomfortably so.

I had no idea what time it was, but sunlight was coming through the gapes of the blinds. I traced his face with my eyes, welling in the feeling of calm and peace.

I had been surprised to wake up to him, since I had expected my parents to kick him out of my bed once they saw how close we were lying. Every time I woke up, I was happy to find him next to me, sleeping soundly.

I closed my eyes moved one of my arms to lie over his waist and the other to lie flat against his toned stomach. The darkness enveloped me once again and gave me dreams of songs, flowers and guitars.

~Stay~

"Hey, Alice," I greeted one of my best friends. She was standing next to my locker, looking at her phone in a very interested way. Every time I looked around the hallway, I met people's stares and weird looks.

"Hey," she greeted back without looking up.

"Did you have a nice weekend, Bella? Yes, it was amazing up until some point, thanks for asking," I mumbled, and apparently Alice didn't hear me.

I opened my locker and grabbed some books before walking with long strides to my homeroom.

Soon I heard some footsteps running towards me and slowing down once they reached me.

"I heard you were missing," Alice mentioned.

My book bag was slowly slipping off my shoulder, so I readjusted it. I was actually surprised she knew and I wanted to know how but I kept my face uninterested.

"How'd you know?" I reached in my bag and grabbed my wallet, checking whether or not there would be enough money for me to buy lunch. Mom had said that she would stuff twenty dollars in there but I think she forgot. _Again. _

_Damn, I should get a job. I don't want to ask Emmett every time she doesn't give me any money._

"It's all over Facebook and twitter. Some people even made pics with you huddled in a blanket with Edward nearly choking you to death with a hug. It was in the Forks newspaper from this morning too. Here," she shoved her phone in my face and I saw the picture.

"_**Isabella Swan gets kidnapped" **_was the headline of the Forks newspaper.

"No, no, no, no. I didn't get fucking kidnapped!" I yelled and half the school population looked at me. I didn't mind attention in particular when it's shared with another person, but more than 50 pairs of eyes directly looking at you is just mentally disturbing.

I clutched my bag close to me and ran outside towards the picnic tables.

After a little while, I felt two arms wrap around me and a voice whispering words at me.

"What's up, little sis?" Emmett asked. "I saw you running away from that pixie like she just told you she killed your hamster," he remarked. It was meant to diffuse the tension, but it didn't work at all.

"Have you seen the headline of the paper from this morning?"

Emmett shook his head and frowned. "No, why?"

Indeed why, Bella. Why would you even ask that? You know Emmett never even comes close to the paper.

"It said that I had gotten kidnapped and Alice told me it was all over Facebook and twitter too. How did they even know?" I didn't want to cry, but I felt a droplet fall on my cheek, so I wiped it away hastily.

Emmett undid his arms from around me and scratched the back of his neck, not meeting my eyes.

"Yeah, that would be my fault," he said guiltily.

"Why? Emmett, what did you do?"

"I might have posted on Facebook and twitter that you were missing and that we could use everyone's help to find you. Also, I might have forgotten to delete the tweet once you turned up again."

I palmed my forehead.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now anyway. Let's get back inside," I pulled on Emmett's arm and we split up to go to our separate classes.

I didn't want to think so easy about it. I would've loved to take away everyone's phones and wipe their memories before entering the school, but I knew that it would blow over soon anyway.

~Stay~

After waking up next to Edward that morning, he had rushed to get home, change and have breakfast which resulted in not having enough time to pick me up too. I had reluctantly taken Emmett up on his offer of driving me to school. Strangely enough, neither of my parents had said anything about Edward staying over. We were now sitting in the cafeteria surrounded by our friends; Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Angela and Ben. All of which were couples; yay Edward and me.

"I heard there was some kind of commotion this morning?" Edward asked. He was seated on the chair next to mine, a tray with a slice of pizza, an apple and a bottle of Gatorade in front of him.

"Nothing to worry about," I said and took a bite from my apple. Emmett hadn't brought enough money for the both of us, so I only had enough for an apple.

"Aren't you going to eat anything else?" Edward was holding his slice of pizza in his hand and pointed at me with it.

"My mom didn't give me enough money," I tried to laugh it away but I was sure it must've looked fake.

He brought his slice of pizza towards my mouth and I took a bite from it.

"Thanks," I said through my mouthful. Edward nodded in welcome and took a bite himself before washing it away with some Gatorade. I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down with his swallows. It was surprisingly entertaining. Not to mention it turned be on a little bit.

_What? I said only a little bit!_

We finished our lunch and the group of friends around us fell into the background as we made easy conversation.

"Hey, did you want to try some more songs in the music room?" Edward asked.

"You mean right now?" I clarified.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Uh, sure," I grabbed my bag and tray, as did Edward.

"Hey, where are you two turtledoves going?" Emmett asked, a smile reaching his eyes.

I rolled my eyes at him. "None of your business, Emmy-bear," Rosalie chuckled at my nickname for him.

"If you're going to make out, don't be ashamed. We've all seen it coming for a while now," Emmett winked at me and Edward, who was emptying his tray into the container.

I flipped my dear brother the bird and moved towards Edward, balancing my tray on both my arms so it wouldn't fall.

"Love you too, sis!" Emmett yelled over the noise of the cafeteria. I felt the eyes of around 60 people bore into my back but ignored it. Instead I let my dare-devilish self overtake me and balanced the tray on one arm so I could flip Emmett the bird one final time.

After emptying the tray, Edward and I walked to the music room, closed the door and he began strumming on his guitar while I took place on the bench behind the piano.

"Titanium?" I asked, smiling to myself. That one song I was pretty proud of. We had made our own version of it, which was way different from the original version.

I turned around on the bench and looked at Edward.

He smiled and nodded at me, so I began my musical adventure with the black and white keys. I sang, and Edward focused on the guitar. At several points Edward would sing too, to let my voice sound stronger.

"_You shout it loud  
But I can't hear a word you say  
I'm talking loud not saying much  
I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet  
You shoot me down, but I get up_

I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose  
Far away, far away  
Ricochet, you take your aim  
Far away, far away  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium

Cut me down  
But it's you who had offered to fall  
Ghost town, haunted love  
Raise you voice, sticks and stones may break my bones  
I'm talking loud not saying much

I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose  
Far away, far away  
Ricochet, you take your aim  
Far away, far away  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
I am Titanium  
I am Titanium

Stone-hard, machine gun  
Firing at the ones who run  
Stone-hard, this bulletproof glass

You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am Titanium  
I am Titanium  
I am Titanium" _*******_

We both played the last few notes and were surprised by a round of applause. When I turned around I was met with four people, big smiles on each of their faces. The school's music teacher – Mr. Wright – was clapping enthusiastically together with our biology teacher – Mr. Banner. My brother and his girlfriend were there too. Emmett was whistling and Rosalie delivered a smack to the back of his head. _Thanks for that, Rose. _

I felt my cheeks heat up and hid my face behind a curtain of my hair.

Emmett ran towards me – which I could hear by his gigantic heavy footsteps – and enveloped me in a bear hug.

_Insert his nickname here._

"Sis! That was amazing! Since when can you sing like that?" He pointed an accusing finger at Edward. "And why didn't you tell me she could?"

Edward held his hands in the air, a sign of innocence.

Mr. Wright walked towards us; Edward had come to sit on the other side of the piano bench and had kissed my forehead. I felt little jitters in my stomach when he did that.

"Bella, Edward, that was amazing!" He praised us. "Why don't you apply for the talent show? We only have a few acts and you'd top them all! Do you have any other songs you could perform?" he rushed out.

"We do, but that's beside the point. I don't even know if I want to do it, Mr. Wright," Edward said. I swatted his arm.

"Of course you do, that would look great on your college application!"

"I do, but I didn't think you'd want to. I mean, there will be a crowd," he chuckled and realization hit me.

Did I want to do this? Like Edward said, a few hundred people would be watching me sing and that made me feel very vulnerable. But on the other hand, this would help Edward in the future. Who was I to take that away from him? I knew it sounded good and I'd do anything for Edward to get his music scholarship at Juilliard. _Fuck it. _

"What do we have to lose? Let's do it, Edward."

"Really?" He looked shocked and surprised.

"Really," I confirmed.

He nodded happily. "Okay, we're in, Mr. Wright,"

"Okay, please give me a three-minute tape of material before Friday. Will you be able to deliver that in time?"

We looked each other in the eye, and nodded.

"I could give you some extra time, if you could need some? I understand this is pretty short notice –"

I interrupted him. "We can make it, don't worry."

"Okay, then. I can't wait to hear what more you got up your sleeve," he walked away and took Mr. Banner away who had stuck around. Emmett and Rose were nowhere to be seen.

I wrapped my arms around Edward.

"O my God! I can't believe I'm doing this!" I exclaimed.

My head was comfortably tucked into the place where his shoulder met his neck and I was gripping his shirt in my fist.

"Are you sure you want this? I can understand if you don't," Edward said.

"I'm sure. A hundred percent," I confirmed.

I let go of my death grip on the back of his shirt.

"Okay, let's beat them all," Edward smiled and kissed my forehead one more time.

At that moment the bell rang, which indicated us to go to our final classes of the day.

We grabbed the stuff we had taken with us and left the music room together.

"Hey, are you still up for ice skating this afternoon?" Edward asked while walking down the hallway.

"I had completely forgotten, but sure! I need to go home to put on some other clothes first though."

"That's okay. Shall I drive you home after school then? I brought my stuff already."

I nodded and we separated to get to our respective classes.

~Stay~

Those last few classes dragged. The clock seemed to be ticking slower than normal and my head felt heavier.

"Hey, Bella," Angela greeted me while in class.

"Hey," I said but kept taking notes.

"So, how are you and Edward?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I knew damn well what she was talking about.

"Duh. Denial is not only the river that runs through Egypt, you know?" I smiled at Angela's attempt at a joke but kept writing anyways.

"I can't believe you can't see he's into you," Angela grabbed one of my pens and began writing a note. Apparently she figured out that I wasn't planning on replying to her.

_He likes you, you know he does. And so do you ;)_

I grabbed the note, wrote something, crumpled it and threw it back her way.

_No he isn't, Ang. Now, get off my back. _I had written.

She got the hint luckily, and backed off.

After the final bell rang, I collected my shit and shoved it into my bag all at once.

"In a hurry?" Angela commented. I loved that girl, but right now I could scratch her eyes out.

"Fuck off," I said and exited the class room.

I went to my locker, went home with Edward, changed clothes and off we were to Port Angeles to go ice skating. We had also packed some snacks for the ride there and were now nibbling and munching on the Twizzlers and Sour Patch Kids I had managed to grab from the cabinet before leaving.

I was looking through Edward's CD's with a Twizzler hanging from my mouth.

"What are you in the mood for? Muse, Kings of Leon, David Guetta or Imagine Dragons?" Edward was pulling a very attractive face after putting a Sour Patch Kid on his tongue_._

_I wouldn't mind pre-tasting one for him. _

_Woah, where did that come from? _

"Kings of Leon," Edward answered and soon Closer blasted from the speakers. I turned up the volume some more and sang at the top of my lungs. Edward did too. He opened both the front windows and my hair was flying into all directions. Edward had his left hand out the window, tapping the top of the car on the beat.

When the track was over, it moved to Sex on Fire, which was one of our favorite songs. This time, instead of singing we yelled the lyrics. I unbuckled myself and began throwing my head around in the car, losing myself to the music. Edward grabbed the steering wheel in his left hand and intertwined the fingers of his right hand with mine. I was having a blast, enjoying the feel of freedom. Edward brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I looked into his eyes and lost myself there. _Again. _

_Yes, I know. You're probably thinking; she loses herself in his eyes often, what a simple girl. No – no, you've apparently never seen Edward Cullen's eyes. Because if you had, you would have known that you can lose yourself in hem 24/7. _

"Edward, watch out!" I screamed. A tree came closer and a car behind us horned. He let go of my hand and grabbed the steering wheel in both hands, gripping it tightly. Soon we were back on the road, driving toward our destination, instead of our _final _destination around that tree.

I held my hand over my beating-way-too-fast heart and buckled myself in again.

"Your beautiful Volvo was almost folded around that tree right there!" I yelled.

"I know, okay! Nothing happened; just go on singing, or whatever. But turn that shit down first!" he snapped.

I knew it was the shock that had Edward act like this, but I was shocked too. I pressed the off button and soon we were alone and silent again. Edward had rolled the windows up again too.

I was matting my hair down by patting it, but seeing from Edward's mess mine must've looked the same, which meant it was unfixable for me.

"Sorry, okay? I was just startled. I didn't mean to snap at you like I did," he reached out for my hand, and I gladly gave it. He rested our hands on the gear stick.

"I know," I said.

"I'm really sorry. I should've been more careful," Edward chuckled. "You're pretty distracting when you're letting yourself that free," he smiled at me and his grin was crooked. I laughed.

We held hands the entire ride to Port Angeles; I liked it, enjoyed it, and loved it.

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**A/N: **

**That was a close one! Please tell me what you think! Reviews are much appreciated! **

*****: Titanium by David Guetta ft Sia. This particular situation was inspired by the acoustic version performed by Madilyn Bailey. The song doesn't belong to me in any way, I just used it. **


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **

**Hi everyone! **

**Thanks so much for the amount of people who added this story to their alerts! I really appreciate it and I hope you'll continue liking this story! **

**As to the posting schedule, let's throw that out of the window. I'm really busy at school so I'll try to post twice a week, but it's hard. I don't think I'll post anything until Monday, but it's possible. Let's hope I'll find some time to write :)**

**Thanks for the reviews I got last chapter and I hope you'll continue to show your support :)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm only playing with the characters. (But enjoying it immensely ;) ) **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed, all the mistakes are mine.**

**Have fun reading and don't forget to Revieww! **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Previously on Stay:**_

"_Sorry, okay? I was just startled. I didn't mean to snap at you like I did," he reached out for my hand, and I gladly gave it. He rested our hands on the gear stick. _

"_I know," I said. _

"_I'm really sorry. I should've been more careful," Edward chuckled. "You're pretty distracting when you're letting yourself that free," he smiled at me and his grin was crooked. I laughed. _

_We held hands the entire ride to Port Angeles; I liked it, enjoyed it, and loved it. _

**Chapter 7**

**BPOV**

It was nearing Twilight outside when we reached the outdoor rink. Port Angeles had one every year. Next to it was a stand that sold hot chocolate and had the best cookies; they tasted like they were made by someone's grandma.

Edward and I had made a tradition out of it. We had gone every year since we were six. Then of course our parents had brought us and taken a gazillion of pictures of us – two little kids trying to skate a little without falling on their butt every single minute. I still have one of those pictures hanging above my desk; Edward and I, both 8 years old, holding hands and skating next to each other.

We grabbed our skates from the trunk of the car and walked to the little office that was attached to the rink. A little fat man with an adorable smile accepted our money and wished us a lot of fun. Soon we were sitting down on the benches and putting on our skates. Edward had ice hockey skates while I had figure skates. Edward had played some ice hockey for the club in Port Angeles a few years ago, but had to quit after getting a knee injury.

_You'd probably think; Bella? The Bella who falls over her own feet? She skates? You'd be surprised how well I can actually maneuver on the ice. _

Edward was done soon with lacing his skates. I was being my usual clumsy self and was still busy on the first skate. Edward squatted in front of me, grabbed my foot and slit my skate on. He began lacing it, but asked every once in a while if it wasn't too tight.

He patted my foot when he was done; I was still busy doing the other foot.

Edward laughed and shook his head, swatting my fumbling hands away and began lacing that one too.

"Could I hire you as my personal assistant? It seems like I could use one," I remarked seriously. He looked up at me and showed me his crooked grin. I smiled back.

"I don't think you have to hire me, I pretty much am already," he joked. I poked him in the chest. Of course he barely felt it since he was wearing his thick and warm coat.

He stood from his position and helped me up from the bench.

"I don't mind being your unpaid personal assistant at all, Bella. It gives me a reason to be with you all the time," he said and I swooned.

He pulled my beanie down over my ears and I did the same to him. He bowed a little so I could reach his head without reaching up too much. I pulled on my mittens and grabbed his hand again.

He was holding both my hands and we slowly walked to the rink over the rubber ground. I was leaning on Edward because right now I was in a very hard position. Instead of walking on both my feet which was a challenge already, I was walking on two very thin blades.

_This situation is just asking for a broken leg and an ambulance. _

"Don't look at your feet so much," Edward broke me out of my telepathy ambulance call.

And then we were on the ice.

There were only three other people on the rink; a female and male, with a child. I was assuming it was a family outing. I smiled inwardly and remembered when we were six. Edward and I holding on to each other for life, not wanting to let go or one of us would fall down. _If we tried hard, maybe even the both of us._

"Let's go slow the first round, okay?" Edward said. I nodded.

He went in front of me and skated backwards, holding onto my hands like we always did.

"How could you even skate backwards? I can barely even skate in a straight line!" I exclaimed, looking down at how my skates made contact with the ice.

Edward let one of my hands go and put a finger underneath my chin. "Don't look at your skates all the time," he repeated himself from a few moments ago. "Sorry, sir," I said mockingly.

Then he let go.

"Edward!" I whisper-yelled.

"What? You can skate just fine. Do it on your own," he said with a reassuring smile.

In my periphery I could see the family exiting the rink, which meant we were now alone on the ice.

Edward kept skating backwards and I took mini slides toward him, but every time he was just out of my reach.

He turned around so we could skate next to each other. I was back to feeling okay on the ice, so I gained some speed. Edward had to accelerate a bit too, and he reached for my hand. We were skating egg-shaped rounds now, and smiling and laughing.

I was admiring the experience; the little lights illuminating the dark sky, the smell of hot chocolate and ice invading my senses and of course the amazing feeling of holding onto Edward. My best friend. The person I could count on. The person I could sing with. The person who read my deepest thoughts through my stories. The person I grew up with. The person I loved so dearly. The person I wanted to be more with than just friends.

I wanted more. I wanted him. I wanted us together.

My eyes opened in shock, I hadn't even realized I had closed them. I was pulled out of my concentration and fell on my butt. Edward landed on his back half on top of me.

"Bella!" he laughed so carefree.

His eyes shone, the edges of his mouth pulled up into a smile and a few strands of his unruly but special bronze colored hair peeked out from underneath his dark green beanie.

He stood and grabbed my hand to help me up.

That brought us face to face, and fairly close too. Only a few centimeters of cold air was between us. I could see the air he breathed out in white clouds, and it mixed with mine. The tip of his nose was a little bit red, contrasting beautifully with the green of his eyes and the bronze of his hair.

His hands were resting on my hips and mine were gripping his upper arms.

Unconsciously we were both leaning towards each other.

_Is he going to kiss me? Am I going to kiss him? Are we going to kiss each other? _

I saw his eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips and my thoughts were confirmed; he was going to kiss me. Did I mind? Not at all.

And then his lips were on mine. His soft lips were barely touching mine. I wound my arms around his neck and pulled him down a little, my hands finding home underneath his beanie in his soft hair.

_Pretty much everything was soft about him, apart from his abs. And chest. And back. And hopefully his crotch._

I added a little pressure and nibbled on his bottom lip. His nose was sliding against mine and I felt the tip of his tongue against my lips. His arms moved from my hips to around my waist, hugging me to him.

I opened my mouth a little and gasped at the feeling. A little moan escaped me when his tongue slid next to mine, stroking it lovingly. I kept playing with his hair, and pulled it once a little harder. I wanted to apologize, but I heard Edward groan conveniently so I decided not to break our kiss.

Our tongues played together, moving against each other and stroking each other. It felt like magic. Then Edward's hands were on my face, cupping my cheeks. He slowly removed his tongue from my mouth, which made me moan again to much my shame, and kissed my lips a few times.

He held my face in his hands and I kept my hands in his hair. We looked into each other's eyes and apparently we were both lost for words, because neither of us broke the silence. The lights in my periphery were even more beautiful now, as was Edward.

"Bella," he breathed. His breath fanned over my face, and I wanted nothing more than to reclaim his lips and kiss the hell out of him.

"Edward," I breathed back. We were standing so close to each other, I could feel his body heat through both our coats.

He let his hands slide down again, and I unwound my arms from around his neck. He then grabbed my hands in his and smiled shyly at me.

I didn't want to be the one to break the comfortable silence, but I did anyway.

"I really like you, Edward," I said, and I looked down at my skates again. After this kiss I would think he'd like me too, but what if he regretted it? I didn't want to ruin our friendship like that.

He tilted my chin up again like he had done so many times already. "I really like you too, Bella," Edward said. He kissed me chastely on my lips again. Way too chastely if you asked me.

"Cool," I said and I smiled and nodded at the same time.

"Very cool," Edward confirmed.

Then his lips were back on mine again and he kissed me intensely.

A lot fell from my shoulders right then. Our feelings were out in the open, and our relationship wasn't ruined because of this all. This only made us stronger, I could feel it.

I cupped his neck when his tongue was stroking against mine again. When the kiss ended, he grabbed my face and peppered it with kisses all over it. I laughed and squirmed on the ice.

"Would you like to get some hot chocolate?" Edward asked me.

I nodded. I felt so happy; Edward liked me just like I liked him and we kissed and it felt so amazing.

Five minutes later we were sitting on the opposite of each other, sipping our hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. I took a big swig and ended up with a chocolate mustache.

"You have a little –, wait," he said and leaned over the table.

He claimed my lips again, but favored my upper lip this time. He began licking it and then my mustache was no more. I kissed him back and I felt his lips curl into a smile. I opened my eyes during the kiss and was met with his beautiful but piercing emeralds. We burst out laughing at the same time and broke the kiss.

I finished my beverage after taking a few swigs. "Come here," he requested in a soft voice.

I straddled him on the bench, digging my fingers into his hair again. He hugged me to him and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Bella," he began.

"Yes?" I asked, not moving my head from its place on his shoulder.

"Will –" he stopped and breathed in.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he continued.

I did move my head from his shoulder now. When I looked into his eyes I saw uncertainty but also a lot of adoration and maybe even love.

I didn't want to just reply so I kissed him instead to confirm. But in case he didn't understand I gasped a "Yes" out as well. We kissed for what felt like hours and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel something hard against my heated center.

"Uh," someone said behind us. We applied the 'just ignore it then it will go away' practice and kept kissing.

"I'm sorry kids, but we're closing up," that did get our attention. I looked at my phone that was lying on the table.

"Oh shit! It's almost eleven!" I said. "Mom and dad are going to kill me!"

"If we go now, we might make it before midnight, Bella. Don't worry," he reassured me.

Edward and I both stood from the bench and collected our stuff before linking hands and walking away.

"Thank you, sir," Edward said.

"No problem, kid. I hope you get home in time," he winked at us.

"I hope so too," I mumbled and Edward laughed.

The ride home was uneventful, but comfortable. We held hands the entire ride and Edward kept stroking the back of my hand with his thumb; it was oddly arousing.

"Hey, Edward," I began.

"What's up?"

"Where was Bree today? I now realize I haven't seen her the entire day," I felt a bit guilty for forgetting about Edward's cousin.

"She had an appointment today so mom told her to just stay home. I guess she will be there tomorrow again if everything went well," he shrugged.

"Will you introduce me to her?" I asked.

He squeezed my hand lightly. "Of course," he confirmed.

The rest of the ride home we just looked at our surroundings through the tinted windows and enjoyed being together.

"Let me get that," he said. I was pulling my bag with skates and some other stuff from the trunk of his car but it was heavy.

"Edward, you don't have to fight my battles for me," I said, slightly annoyed that he'd think I couldn't do anything.

"The battle with your bag, you mean?" we both chuckled and I let Edward take the bag.

When I opened the door it was surprisingly silent. No mom running towards me or dad scolding me for being home late. He'd told us to be home at eleven, but it was a little past midnight now.

I did hear the TV from the living room so I went there and found my dad on the couch, fast asleep. I turned off the TV and threw my gran's blanket over him. I then walked back to the hallway and hugged Edward to me.

"We're not going to pretend like we're not together, right?" I said into his shirt. He pushed me away slightly to look me in the eye. "Of course not. We're together now so I want to show the world you're off limits. I hope it will learn that damn Jacob Black a lesson," he said, smirking a little.

"Jacob Black?" I asked surprised.

"That dude that keeps hanging around that Eric guy, you know? I believe he lives in La Push. Well anyways, he keeps looking at you like you're something to eat and I want that over with," he said.

"Possessive, are we, Mr. Cullen?" I poked him in the chest softly.

"Yeah, totally," he admitted and kissed me deeply. I responded by sliding my hands into his hair and pulling at the strands. It was Edward who moaned this time and pushed me against the wall. He didn't push me hard, but he was now closer to me than ever before.

_Me likes._

The kiss was a little bit more aggressive than the others we'd shared, but I loved it so much. He swiped his tongue over my lips and kissed them a few times before stepping back a little.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow again?" He made it sound like a question.

"Absolutely," I confirmed.

He pulled me to him for a final kiss and then opened the door and walked out. I watched from the window how he stepped into his car and drove away. I only hoped he wouldn't get in trouble by getting home so late.

I dragged my bag up the stairs, trying to make as little noise as I could, but of course at that moment the zipper decided to break and my skate tumbled down the stairs.

"Fuck," I whispered angrily.

I ran down the stairs quietly and picked the skate up before running upstairs again, where I had the shock of my life.

Emmett was standing atop of the stairs with a baseball bat in his hands.

"Jesus, Emmett! You scared me to death!" I yelled quietly. I was clutching my chest.

_The fucking second time today I had an almost heart attack! _

"You scared me too! What the fuck are you doing dragging a body bag up the stairs in the middle of the night!" he exclaimed and lowered the bat.

One of Emmett's many problems; the dude can't keep his voice down.

I heard my mom switch the light on in her room and the shuffling of feet coming towards the door.

I closed my eyes as if I could not be seen right now.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" my mom yelled when she opened the door. "Where have you been?"

I opened my eyes to a fuming mother.

"And where is Charlie?" she added as an afterthought.

I pointed my thumb down the stairs, hoping she'd understand that dad was on the couch.

"You should also ask why she's dragging a body bag up the stairs, mom," Emmett said.

My mom glared at him. "Emmett, help your sister get her bag to her room and then go to bed. Isabella, you come here for a minute," she moved away from the door so I could enter the room.

I sat down on the bed and crossed my arms.

"And where have you been, young lady?" my mom asked.

"Edward and I were at the rink in Port Angeles but lost complete track of time. When we saw what time it was we raced home – don't worry he didn't break the speeding limit – but we were having fun and I'm home now and I'm sorry and I love you," I smiled sweetly at her.

At the mentioning of Edward's name the jittery feeling in my stomach returned and a little smile appeared on my face.

"I will verify this with Esme, but I trust you. Off to bed," she shooed be away.

_How exactly does saying she trusts me and that she will verify this with Esme correspond?_

I went to the bathroom and changed into my pajamas. I now felt that I hadn't had dinner but I was too afraid to go downstairs to get a granola bar so I just went to bed.

When I was in my bed, I grabbed my phone and fired off a text to Edward.

_I had a lot of fun today. Thank you. Xx B _

I put my phone on the charger and fell asleep. In my dreams the color white and green occurred a lot and I felt truly happy.

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**A/N: **

**I hope you liked this chapter and our little Bellward moment!**

**Please revieww! I'd love to reach 10 reviews with this chapter :)**

**~Nathalie **


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:**

**Hello! **

**I'm back with a huge chapter (4,500 words while it's normally about 3,000) and about 4 days early! **

**This is because I was sick home from school for three days, so when I was feeling slightly better I wrote a bit :)**

**I want to thank you all for the enormous amount of added fav's and alerts and not to mention the reviews! **

**It feels amazing to see and hear how many people actually like this story and my way of writing. I appreciate it all very much :)**

**I really hope you like this chapter; I have a feeling you will ;) **

**Some slightly M-rated stuff later on in the chapter – just saying.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight in any way, I'm just playing with what Stephenie Meyer created. Bless her for that. **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed so all mistakes are mine. I greatly apologize for mistakes, I hope I didn't make too many. **

**Sorry for this long-ass A/N. **

**Now let's get to reading! Have fun!**

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_**Previously on Stay:**_

_How exactly does saying she trusts me and that she will verify this with Esme correspond?_

_I went to the bathroom and changed into my pajamas. I now felt that I hadn't had dinner but I was too afraid to go downstairs to get a granola bar so I just went to bed. _

_When I was in my bed, I grabbed my phone and fired off a text to Edward. _

_I had a lot of fun today. Thank you. Xx B _

_I put my phone on the charger and fell asleep. In my dreams the color white and green occurred a lot and I felt truly happy._

**Chapter 8**

**BPOV**

His soft but firm lips were on mine, the bed sheets rustling where I was gripping them tightly in my fists. His hands were in my hair, my legs crossed around his middle and my heels digging in his butt cheeks. Little groans and moans filled the air, a contrast to the rain hitting the window with its fat drops. We were moving, a sheen of sweat covering both our naked bodies. Moving against each other, breathing into each other's mouths and the sensation of our bond expanding was amazing. I felt _everything_ and I only wanted more.

"Bella," Edward moaned. My nails were digging into his back, leaving red marks behind.

And then I woke up.

The sound of my alarm clock filled the room, a great disappointment to the steam Edward and I were producing when we were dancing our little tango.

I groaned, out of protest this time, and turned the alarm off my randomly hitting the nightstand with my fist.

My hair was sticking to my temples in little strands. I jumped out of bed and hit the shower, the hot water running down my back. My strawberry scented shampoo I used to wash my hair with and the vanilla body foam I had gotten for my birthday created a mouth-watering smell that entered my senses.

I blow-dried my hair quickly and put on my clothes; black skinny jeans with black high top chucks and a navy colored sweater with a V-neck. The push-up bra I was wearing 'made my boobs look good'. That's what Jessica used to say when we were still good friends. She unfortunately ruined it all by getting jealous of my friends.

Banging on the door and the heavy voice of my brother made me roll my eyes and hurry up a little bit more.

"Bella! Get the fuck out of there; others might want to use the bathroom too!"

"Fuck off, Emmett! I'm almost finished," I yelled back.

I used some mascara to darken my lashes with and added a little touch of transparent lip gloss to my lips to make them look fuller.

_I have no idea how long that will last; I might be sharing the gloss with Edward soon. At least, I hope so. _

I twisted the lock on the door and opened it, only to be met by my brother dearest wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

"Emmett! I have a trauma now!" I yelled and covered my eyes.

I was sure that if he wasn't my brother he could be considered quite hot; tall, abs of steel, and quite some muscle. Not to mention the damn dimples, which I have mentioned before.

His booming voice produced laughter before closing the door.

I threw some books into my bag and hung it over my shoulder, padding down the stairs.

I grabbed some money out of the household jar for lunch, which surprisingly actually held money for once, and made myself some scrambled eggs with bacon.

Both my parents had left for work already; which they always did.

My dad was a detective in Port Angeles and my mom was head of a department store also in Port Angeles so they had to head out early to get there on time.

_Luckily they make an overall pretty good income. _

I was eating quickly while sitting at the kitchen table, as if it would make Edward arrive earlier.

"I smell bacon!" Emmett entered the kitchen with a huge smile across his face.

"No shit, Sherlock," I mumbled through some egg.

"Please tell me you made me some too," his bottom lip was jutting out.

I swallowed. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't?"

"Thank you," he said and kissed my cheek before loading his plate with a mountain of eggs and building a mansion on top of it with his bacon.

I shook my head in disgust and chewed away the last of my bacon.

He took a seat in front of me and began devouring his tower of terror. He moaned and talked with his mouth full. "Hmm, baby sis, you make the best eggs and bacon," his eyes rolling back into his head.

I kicked his leg under the table. "Ew! Emmett! Swallow before you talk, please!"

He opened his mouth to what I assume was either to confirm my statement or to bring some smart remark into the world but I interrupted him by kicking him again.

"Pig. I feel bad for Rose to have to put up with that," I motioned to him and he gave me his dimpled, and luckily closemouthed, smile.

"I smell bacon," Edward stated after the front door opened.

He never rung the bell anymore, he just barged in.

"Do guys have some intern bacon sensor I don't know of?" I asked myself.

I squealed anyways and launched myself from the chair into Edward's arms, completely ignoring the other two persons in the room.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, as I had done in my dreams and kissed him fiercely on the mouth.

"Hey," he whispered with a smile on his face.

"Hey," I smiled back.

Someone scraped his throat behind me.

"Uhm, did I miss something? Last time I checked, you guys were still stuck in the friend zone," Emmett commented. "Oh, I get it. That's why you got home so late last night, wasn't it? You were making out with little Eddie here in his car. Am I wrong?" my brother was now wiggling his eyebrows at us, his mouth full of egg.

I shot him the bird and looked behind Edward. He loosened his arms from around me and I slid down. The girl behind him looked more fragile than I had ever seen her before.

_Which wasn't so many times._

I walked towards her and extended my hand. "Hi, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you," I said genuinely with a smile on my face.

She was wearing a large hoodie – Emmett large – and a pair of skinny jeans. Black Dr. Martens on her feet and her hair up in a messy bun on the back of her head. Dark bags were underneath her eyes and she looked drained.

She grabbed my hand in one of her smaller and softer ones and shook it. "Bree," was all she said.

Then she retracted her hand and put it in the front pocket of her hoodie; she was drowning in the piece of clothing.

I then turned around to Emmett and motioned for him to introduce himself to her with a fierce stare.

"Oh!" he shot up from his chair. "I'm Emmett, Bella's _older_ brother," he emphasized older as if she'd actually care.

She didn't take his extended hand, and Emmett took it back in a rejected way.

He slowly moved back to the chair and began eating again.

"Shouldn't you be picking up Rose or something?" I questioned him.

"Oh fuck!" he jumped up, grabbed the keys to his Jeep and his coat and left the house.

I groaned. "This is how I always end up doing the dishes." I began to move the plates to the sink while mumbling. "Fucking Emmett."

Edward grabbed my coat and beanie from the closet and came towards me. His hair was messy, as if he'd dragged his hand through it a million times.

I took the coat from him and put it on, while he did my beanie for me. He kissed my forehead, nose and lastly my lips with a quick peck before walking out of the house towards his car. I grabbed my bag and locked up before moving to sit in the passenger's seat. I would've taken the back but Bree got there first.

The ride was awkward, which I wasn't used to with Edward, so I pushed in our favorite Kings of Leon CD. Edward was drumming his fingers to the beat on the steering wheel, while I was singing along with the lyrics.

When Edward pulled up to the school premises, Bree launched herself out of the car before it had even stopped moving.

We were a bit early so we stayed in the car for a bit.

"I don't think she likes me very much," I said, looking down at my fumbling fingers.

He grabbed both my hands in both of his, which made me look up, and looked me in the eye.

"It's impossible not to like you," he said, and I think I melted right then and there.

"She went to her psychiatrist yesterday, and he told her she has post-traumatic stress disorder, so I think that might be it," Edward informed me.

"Wow, that's pretty severe," I felt truly sorry for the girl. She wasn't that much older than I was – only a month – but she'd been through so much more already.

Edward nodded.

"Is there anything we could do to help?" I asked.

"Mom said to just leave her be for a bit. She'll come to us when she needs us," he cupped my cheek and I leaned into his hand.

I leaned over the center console and straddled him in his seat. I wiggled a bit to get comfy on his muscular legs but his hands grabbed my hips and stilled my movements, which made me want to wiggle only more. He groaned.

I cupped his neck and kissed him softly. His bottom lip was asking for me to bite it so I nibbled on it while he massaged my upper lip with his tongue. I tilted my head slightly and gave him full access to my own tongue, which he gladly accepted. Our tongues met in the middle and began their infinite tango. I slid my hands into his hair, massaging his scalp which earned me a soft moan.

_That's what I'm doing this for; his moans. _

In my head I was reliving my dream, and I couldn't wait to be thrown on the backseat only to be stretched by Edward's large form.

_At least, I imagine him to be large. Also I'm feeling something particularly large and hard against where I'd like him to be. Without clothes, that is. _

_Is it weird I'm thinking, not to mention dreaming, about having sex with Edward while he only asked me to be his girlfriend 24 hours ago? Scratch that, less than 12 hours ago. _

I extracted my tongue from his mouth, gave him a few pecks on his lips and reached for my bag.

"Sometimes I really wonder what is going on in that pretty little head of yours," Edward said.

"Why? Did you say something?"

"No," he laughed.

I opened the door and stepped out. Edward threw his bag over his shoulder, linked hands with me and locked the car.

"You want to go for a smoke first?" Edward asked.

_Yes, my dear Edward smokes. _

"Sure."

We headed to the rather large group of people surrounding my brother's Jeep and joined them. Edward grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it before handing it to me.

_Uh, yes, I forgot to mention I smoke too on the occasion. I only do it sometimes. Not often at all. I've got no addiction, don't worry. _

"Hey, guys," Edward called out and he did the one-armed man-shake-hug thing with a few guys.

I took a deep drag and let the smoke stay in my lungs before breathing it into the air.

"Hey, everyone," I said and the girls waved to me while the guys acknowledged me by tilting their chin up.

Edward took a drag from the cigarette and faced me.

_Oh yes! This is what I'm talking about!_

His arm wrapped around my waist to pull me closer and he leaned down a little bit. His mouth covered mine, and I opened up instantly. Edward breathed the smoke into my mouth before breaking away.

He winked at me before turning towards some friends. I blushed and walked over to Angela, Rose and Alice who were standing together and I could see they had problems containing their enthusiasm.

"Alright, let's hear it," I gave in reluctantly with a sigh and tapped my foot impatiently on the concrete. They squealed in unison and jumped up and down like a bunch of teenage girls who just saw Justin Bieber.

"O my god, Bella! Why didn't you tell us?!" Alice was hanging of my arm. I never understood why this shit mattered so much.

Yes, Edward and I were together and yes, I liked him very much, but why would I call my friends after midnight only so they can make clear that they'd 'told me so'?

"It's a pretty recent development," I told them which they didn't think was enough information. I told them about how we went skating in Port Angeles and it just happened.

Luckily, the bell rang and it saved my ass from being further interrogated by three professionals.

Edward draped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple before we separated to go to our classes.

We met up during lunch in the cafeteria again with each a piece of lasagna and something to drink on a tray.

"You want to start practicing for the talent show after we finish eating?" he asked.

We sat at our usual table, our chairs close to each other.

I nodded and began munching on the lasagna, which tasted surprisingly good.

Once the 'Bella and Edward sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G' joke was over, Edward and I went to the music room and began talking about which song we were going to pick for the audition tape.

"This is not the song we're going to perform, right?" I clarified. We were sitting together on the piano bench, lyrics of several songs spread out in front of us on the closed piano.

Edward shook his head. "No, I was thinking about doing 'Say Something' for the talent show?" He was scratching the back of his neck, which was a sign that he was uncertain about it.

I grabbed his hand from his neck. "I think that's beautiful," I said. "I do have to learn how to play it on the piano, though. But that won't be a problem I think," I nodded to myself.

"I know you can do it but you must realize the show is next Friday already. If you can't do it, it's not a big deal, we'll choose from the songs you know already," he assured me.

"I can do it," I assured him.

"Okay, now what song are we going to do for the audition tape?" I was tapping my chin dramatically.

Suddenly it felt like a flame ignited in my head. "I know a good one, Edward," I said with a huge smile on my face.

"You can play the piano in this one," I stood from the bench and began to jump around.

"Could you tell me which one you're talking about?" he laughed.

"Human! Human by Christina Perri!* It's that song I've been dying to sing with you on the piano! You know, that one I made you learn about a month ago?" He was nodding along but I sensed he had no idea which one I was talking about.

'_But I'm only human, and I plead when I fall down,' _I sang.

"Oh! That one!" he stood and walked over to me with a smile on his face.

"Yes! That one!" I smiled too and jumped in his arms before kissing his sweet lips.

"Yeah, baby! Let's do that one," he kissed me back in an intense matter.

And then we practiced. We managed to practice it five times during break so the day after we were ready to record it and hand it in.

Mr. Wright was ecstatic when he listened to our tape and he told us we were in the show.

_Which we knew already of course, but the 'protocol' was made for every student so even though he had heard us perform already, he couldn't make an exception for us. _

We had 8 days left until the show and I was doing everything I could to get the song right on the piano. We practiced every day after school with me on my keyboard and Edward on his guitar. That was what we were doing when Esme came home with Bree on Friday night.

"Hey, honey," Esme opened the door to Edward's room without knocking. Luckily we were busy practicing and not making out. Edward's parents were happy about our relationship, just like my parents were.

Edward quit playing mid-song and turned towards his mother.

"Bree wants to take a nap so could you tune it down a little?"

"But mom, we have to be ready for Friday and that won't be possible if we don't practice," Edward whined.

"You've been practicing all week, I think you can miss one afternoon. Right, Bella?"

_Why do parents always feel the need to hear confirmation by an outsider who clearly doesn't feel comfortable contradicting a grown-up? _

"Sorry, Esme, but Edward is right. But we can go to my house, if you'd like? My parents are still at work and Em is probably at Rose's," I felt bad going in against Esme but this really was important.

"Oh, sweetie, I feel bad banning you from my house," Esme said. Luckily she hadn't mistaken my remark for rudeness.

"Don't worry about it, Esme. We've been here a lot the last couple of days and I understand that Bree needs her rest."

I grabbed my keyboard and folded the standard so I could carry it across town.

"Edward, take your car and make sure to be home for dinner. Both of you," she emphasized. She left the room which left Edward and I to grab our shit and go.

We arrived at my house soon. Taking Edward's car had sped up our travel time. We placed our instruments on the ground with care before collapsing on my bed.

_Why do I have a feeling we brought the instruments for nothing?_

Edward kissed me soundly, igniting the fire within me. Suddenly he broke the kiss.

"You're sure neither Em nor your parents are home, right?" he looked kind of shy.

I knew I didn't want to have sex with Edward yet, but that didn't mean I wouldn't like to do anything else. We'd only officially been together for a short period of time, but we both knew we'd unofficially been together for so much longer.

"Positive," I mumbled with my lips attached to Edward's. He rolled us over so he was on his back and I was straddling him, my hair creating a curtain around our heads. His hands were moving over my body from my waist to my hair, until I felt an uncertain hand on my ass. I broke the kiss and looked him in the eye, which he apparently mistook for unwillingness because he removed his hand. I grabbed it roughly and placed it back, which earned me a crooked grin and I dipped down to kiss him again.

He rolled us over once more so he was on top of me, lying between my legs.

_Déjà vu._

_( Insert suggestive smiley here ) _

He began kissing my neck with feather light kisses before getting a little rougher. He bit the skin there softly, careful not to leave a mark.

"You taste as delicious as you look," Edward mumbled into my neck.

His words shot a wave of arousal directly into my panties, where no one apart from myself had ever touched me before.

I tugged on his hair which brought some moans out of Edward that matched my own.

He began moving his hips against mine, creating friction. I didn't want to embarrass myself by making weird noises, but I thought fuck it and began moving mine in sync with his.

He grabbed my hands in each of his and intertwined them above my head on the pillow.

The sensation was amazing, and if the actual sex was even better I couldn't wait to try that with my Edward. _My Edward. _

Our breathing became heavier and more ragged with our movements, which indicated how close we both were to falling off the edge. The kissing started up again, but it was messy; teeth clashing together and tongues moving in and outside our mouths.

Before long I felt my lower belly starting to erupt in flames and tingle and I felt light. My eyes closed on its own accords, and I was faring myself into oblivion. I came down from my high just to see Edward grunt before collapsing on top of me.

_O my god, I just had an orgasm with Edward. O my god, Edward just had an orgasm with me! O my god, I just dry-humped with my boyfriend! _

I was afraid things might get awkward, but I should've known better; things with Edward _never_ get awkward.

He was lying next to me on the bed and cupped my face from the side.

"You look fabulous when you come," he whispered with a smile before kissing me softly on my lips. My hand was holding his in place while his other hand gripped my waist so I moved to cuddle closer to him.

I slid my arms around his waist and enjoyed the feeling of being absolutely intoxicated by my Edward. I was still in a haze from my orgasm, having enjoyed it immensely.

"Don't I always look fabulous?" I questioned him with my eyes closed and my lips separated from his by a mere inch.

"Of course you do, baby," he hummed before going back to kissing me.

If this was what being in love felt like, I wouldn't ever want it to stop. I heard a door slam downstairs and a faint voice called up. "I'm home to whomever is home too!"

Edward sat up and dragged a hand through his even-messier-than-normal hair. "That's my cue," he sat.

"What? Are you leaving?" I pouted.

"No," he laughed. "I just have to clean up a bit." He motioned to his crotch area and I felt like bitch for not thinking about that sooner.

"Oh, sorry, yes, go ahead," I said, and I felt blood rushing up to my cheeks.

"I really like your blush too," he whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek and leaving the bed for the bathroom.

Luckily Emmett didn't come upstairs for one of his infamous cock-blocking moments and stayed downstairs doing whatever he was doing.

Edward and I actually managed to practice our song for the talent show a few times and I was getting the hang of playing it on the piano with still a week to spare.

After an hour or two of non-stop practicing – non-stop being only stopping for a kiss here and there – we returned to Edward's home.

"Hey, Em, I'm having dinner at the Cullen's so tell mom that when she comes home," I ordered him. He was on the couch, stuffing his mouth with what looked like Cheerios.

_Gross._

"Sure, sis. What are you guys having?" he asked after swallowing. Yellow crumbles where sticking to his face and I saw that the couch had met the same fate.

I looked to Edward and his face said that he _really _didn't want to tell Emmett. Emmett ate for five and I knew Edward's helpings had already been greatly decreased since Bree came to live with them although she barely ate.

"My mom made a chicken casserole," he reluctantly informed my brother.

"Oh! Count me in, little bro!"

"Little bro?" Edward questioned.

"Yes, it's an abbreviation for little brother. You're with little sis now so that makes you little bro," he seemed proud of himself and shoved another handful of Cheerios into his mouth as a reward.

"Sorry you have to live on even less of your mom's amazing food," I genuinely said, my hand lying on his chest reassuringly.

"It's fine, she made more since she knew you were coming so I hope she has enough for Emmett too," he made a face.

"As if you could ever have enough food for Emmett," I laughed.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy," Emmett said, rubbing his stomach with the same hand he used to throw the Cheerios into his mouth, creating a yellow stain on his white V-neck.

"Em, get changed quickly, I'm hungry," if it wasn't for him I might've been enjoying a generous helping of Esme's chicken casserole already.

"Yes, mom," my _older _brother said obediently and he ran upstairs to put on a different shirt.

Meanwhile I grabbed the almost empty bag of chips and put it away.

When I was done, Em and Edward were talking about the guitar in Edward's hand.

"Yes, it's a Gibson," Edward said.

"Cool, man," Emmett slapped Edward's back which made him stumble forward a little.

"Hey!" I protested.

"What?" Emmett asked.

"Be careful with my boyfriend," I said, throwing my arms around Edward's waist and looking up at said boyfriend from underneath my eyelashes.

He dipped down and kissed my lips quickly, which made Emmett groan.

I stood on my tip toes and kissed him back, a little more intense but no tongue involved.

"Can we leave already? I'm starving!" Emmett exclaimed, suddenly standing next to Edward's car.

Edward and I linked hands and walked towards the car. Edward and I sat up front with Emmett sprawled out on the back seat. We linked hands on the center console and drove towards the Cullen mansion.

I swore I could already smell the casserole when we entered the mile-long driveway which made my stomach grumble. Both Edward and Emmett heard it of course and they laughed out loud which made me blush once more.

Edward stroked my cheek lovingly, eyes flicking from the road to my eyes, and I drowned in his eyes once again, knowing I would for a million times more.

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**A/N:**

**( * Human by Christina Perri is by no means mine, it belongs to its respective owners. I only used it.)**

**Thanks for reading and please reviewww! **

**Reviews are better than bacon and Cheerios ;)**

**~Nathalie **


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:**

**Hello everybody and sorry for the delay! I was sick the entire week and was unable to write because of my huge headache. I hope you guys will be happy with this chapter :)**

**Have fun reading and please review afterwards! :D**

**( In this chapter I describe the dress and shoes Bella is planning on wearing for the talent show. On my profile is a link to my Photobucket where you can find pics of the dress and shoes :) Feel free to check them out. )**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I just used the magic world that Stephenie Meyer created. **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed, every mistake is mine and I apologize for those. **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Previously on Stay: **_

"_Can we leave already? I'm starving!" Emmett exclaimed, suddenly standing next to Edward's car. _

_Edward and I linked hands and walked towards the car. Edward and I sat up front with Emmett sprawled out on the back seat. We linked hands on the center console and drove towards the Cullen mansion. _

_I swore I could already smell the casserole when we entered the mile-long driveway which made my stomach grumble. Both Edward and Emmett heard it of course and they laughed out loud which made me blush once more. _

_Edward stroked my cheek lovingly, eyes flicking from the road to my eyes, and I drowned in his eyes once again, knowing I would for a million times more._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**BPOV**

"No, the note is f not e," Edward corrected me. It was the day before our grand performance and we were just adding the final touches to our play. We were sitting at the baby grand at Edward's house with barely an inch of space between us.

"Edward, it will be fine. You're just stressing out." I took his hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I'm not stressing out, Bella. I just want everything to be perfect."

"Edward, it is perfect as long as we're both on that stage doing what we both love," I cupped his cheek and leaned forward, pressing my lips softly to his.

I sighed into the kiss and Edward cupped my neck with his hand, the other wrapping around my waist and pulling me close.

And then we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind us.

I looked over Edward's shoulder and saw Bree standing there with a blanket and a book in her hand.

"Oh, hey, Bree," I smiled.

"Hey."

She had opened up a little to me over the last week. We had even had a full conversation two days ago about our favorite books. I admitted that I liked reading old English literature like Romeo and Juliette and Wuthering Heights. She was more into the stories which took place in current time.

"What book are you reading?" I asked politely, showing interest.

She walked toward us and held it up for me to take. She was wearing a more fitted hoodie right now in a more fresh color which made her face look more alive; red.

"It's set in the future and it's about a community divided into groups by a test they have to take at age 16. This story is about a girl whose test is left undecided because she can't be fit in just one category. It's really cool," she smiled at me which made me feel good. Edward told me that she barely even conversed with him and they were the ones related.

"It sounds cool indeed. If you ever want to borrow any of mine you can just ask." I returned the book to her and saw that her bookmark was only a few pages away from the back cover.

"Okay. I've almost finished this one so if you want it?"

"Sure. Just tell me when you're finished and I'll read it then. Thanks," I smiled and turned back to Edward who had continued playing during my conversation with Bree. When I had started to learn how to play Say Something, Edward decided he wanted to learn it too so now we could play it both fluently.

Bree exited the room and I reckoned she went to find a peaceful and quiet reading spot.

"I really don't understand why she can't converse with me like she does with you. I'm her cousin for Christ's sake," Edward said frustrated, pressing random keys on the piano to emphasize his feelings.

"Do you really think that because I'm male she assumes I'd hurt her as well?" The look in Edward's eyes I recognized as pure pain. I could see that he hated being feared by his cousin which I understood completely.

I dragged my hand through his hair and scratched his scalp softly. As a response, Edward leaned his head into my head and closed his eyes; a tiny moan escaping.

"I just think she feels a little bit more comfortable around women right now. She'll come to you once she realizes you're just a soft mama's boy," I shook his head a little by pulling on strands of his hair and he whined.

He stilled my hand. "Don't pull so hard, baby," he scolded me.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Does mama do it more softly?" I said with a smile-full pout and extracted my hand.

_Yeah, that's totally possible. A smile-full pout. _

"Actually my mama hasn't done that in a while so keep scratching, woman." He grabbed my hand and put it back in his hair.

It felt amazing to have such an effect on him. Right now there was nothing I'd wish differently in my life; my parents were great – although they weren't home often, they cared about Emmett and I dearly, I had a great boyfriend, fantastic group of friends and although my brother might be a pain in the ass once in a while, I knew I could count on him and I loved him.

"You know," I said extracting my hand from Edward's hair which earned me a whine. "We can do this." I made a gesture towards the piano.

"Let's quit trying and let's do something else." Edward stood and grabbed my hand an evil smile on his face.

"I don't want to get injured a day before our performance, Edward." I pulled slightly on my hand.

"You won't, I promise," Edward said and led me towards the couch.

He held up two DVDs.

"The expendables or Die Hard?" he wiggled his eyebrows which earned him a soft punch in the gut.

"Just put Die Hard in, Edward. I need my weekly dose of Bruce Willis," it was now my turn to wiggle my eyebrows. Edward rolled his eyes.

"You have a Bruce Willis fetish," Edward stated, pressing play.

"No, I have a Jai Courtney fetish."

"A what?"

"You know, the co-star of Bruce Willis in this Die Hard movie," I clarified.

Edward nodded and seated himself next to me.

"I want something to snack on." Edward grunted and lifted himself off the couch again.

"Popcorn or potato chips?" Edward yelled from the kitchen.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Potato chips it is then," I heard Edward mumble from the kitchen and I giggled.

When Edward entered the living room with a bag of chips and a bottle of coke, the movie had only just started because I had purposefully not skipped the trailers.

"C'mere." Edward pulled on my arm and into his side once the movie had started.

I snuggled my face into the warmth of the crook of Edward's neck and planted a kiss there; Edward shivered. I then leaned my head on his shoulder and watched the movie from there while Edward's arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me close.

About half an hour later I felt Edward dose off against me during a gunfire.

_How could people sleep through those while I start only from hearing a gunshot on TV?_

I moved away from him and he whined and grabbed my arm.

"No I'm just moving, one sec." I let his back slide down the couch so he was lying horizontally. I grabbed his head and held it in my lap while I dragged my hand through his soft tufts of bronze hair. Little strands of brown and red made it the extraordinary mélange it was.

Edward hummed approvingly and he moved his arm around my waist, facing my stomach and nuzzling it with his nose.

It was cute and my heart swelled at the sight of him. I scratched his head softly while I continued watching the movie, but I couldn't help but let my eyes move away from the screen once in a while to watch how my boyfriend slept.

His eyelashes fluttered against his pale but beautiful skin and I realized then how beautiful he actually was. I knew he was cute, when he was younger every mom would compliment Esme on her son, but he was actually beautiful – scratch that – hot right now.

I was brought out of my reverie by footsteps coming closer. I could hear by the footsteps it was Esme, also Carlisle wasn't home yet so they couldn't even be his.

"Aw look at that!" Esme smiled and whispered as to not to wake Edward.

_Gunfire can't wake him so Esme's soft voice wouldn't either, but I appreciate the thought._

"This is when he's at his best behavior," Esme beamed.

I chuckled. "Like Edward is so much work?"

Esme seated herself next to me and reached for Edward's head to put a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"Not at all, but I can enjoy some quiet time, can't I?"

I loved Esme. She was an amazing mom to Edward and I considered her as a second mother as well.

Edward squeezed his arms a little around my waist and snuggled closer, curling his legs in.

Soft snores entered the room and Esme and I chuckled.

"Seriously?!" I questioned incredulously.

"Welcome to the world of males," Esme touched my arm and smiled.

_She pretty much always smiles. Have I mentioned I love her?_

"I heard you and Bree are getting along better," Esme stated.

Her caramel-colored hair was curled up in a neat bun on the back of her head, but little loose curls hung around her face. She had her legs pulled up on the couch, and supported her head with her arm while she faced me.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, she's really nice. A bit shy, but nice."

Esme nodded along.

"It's just that she seems so wary of Edward. It's bugging him." I looked at Edward and drew circles with my index finger through his hair, making it even more messy than usual.

"I've noticed. Do you know if she socializes with men at school at all?"

I shook my head from left to right. "No, she's pretty much on her own all the time. Occasionally she speaks to Angela, but that's rare."

At Esme's confused look I explained further.

"Angela, the girl who helps her mom bring up her two twin brothers after her father ran away with some younger woman?"

I could see the recognition in Esme's eyes.

"Ah, that girl. Nice family," Esme said.

"They are," I confirmed.

At that moment Edward began to twist a little which was a sign he was waking up.

He was humming and making weird noises which made me snicker.

He grabbed my hand from where it was resting next to his head. "Continue," he ordered me and put it back in his hair.

Esme smacked him on his head. "That's not how you talk to women. Have you learned nothing from all the things your dad and I taught you?"

"Auch! Mom!" Edward was now sitting up and caressing his head as if Esme had really hurt him.

"Aw, poor baby. Come here." I grabbed his head roughly and kissed his soft hair.

"It hurts here too." Edward pointed at his lips.

"Well, I'd have to kiss it better then, right?" He cupped my face and kissed me softly, pulling me flush against him. We were in an awkward position right now. I was practically in his lap, but not completely. Not to mention that Esme was still seated on the couch only a few inches away.

She scraped her throat as to remind us of her presence. "I think I'm going to start on dinner. Are you staying for dinner, Bella?" She addressed me.

"Sure," I answered and smiled at her before she left the living room.

The DVD was still playing but I hadn't watched it for over half an hour or so. It was that I'd seen it so often before, otherwise I would've had no idea what it was about.

Edward pulled me in his lap, so I was straddling him. My legs were on either sides of his, and my arms were wound around his neck and my fingers were either in his hair or playing with the little hairs at the nape of his neck. Edward's arms were resting on my hips and his hands met on top of my ass, a content smile on his face.

He pulled me in for a kiss which made me forget my surroundings. We were smiling against each other's lips and saliva was exchanged. Edward tasted amazing. His flavor couldn't easily be described; he tasted like a hint of mint and tobacco, and a whole lot of yumminess that could not be compared to anything existing.

It was like a game of tic-tac-toe, when you were above a certain age, no one would win anymore. During our battle of the tongues nobody won; both parties experienced the same amount of pleasure. It was an infinite pull of adoration and devotion and maybe even love.

After what felt like hours – but could have been only a few minutes seeing the movie still hadn't ended – we came up for air and our breathing was heavy and irregular.

I looked outside through the window, finding rays of sunshine breaking through the cloud bags and the forests of trees.

"You want to go outside?" I questioned, playing with the hem of Edward's shirt. My face was buried in his neck and I was kissing the skin there.

"I must say I'm enjoying myself immensely here too," Edward snickered.

"Me too, but hadn't you promised to teach me skateboarding?" I pulled away from Edward's neck and looked him in the eye. I lost my balance slightly but steadied myself by holding on to his muscular upper arms.

"It's called longboarding, not skateboarding. How many times do I have to tell you that?" He pulled on his messy hair which made it stick up.

"Skateboarding, longboarding; it's the same damn thing. It's both a piece of wood on wheels."

"You did not just say that."

"I believe I did actually."

And then I was pushed down and Edward's body was lying on top of mine, tickling the hell out of me.

"Edward!" I screamed. "Stop!"

"Kids! I'm trying to cook here and I don't fancy throwing in too much salt because you're startling me with your yells!" Esme called from the entrance to the living room with a wooden spoon in her hand.

Edward stilled on top of me and we both looked towards Esme.

"Sorry, mom. We're going outside." Edward stood and pulled me up too before turning off the movie.

"I want you back here in an hour for dinner, okay?"

"Yes, mom. We're just going longboarding on the hill." The hill was the only place in Forks where it was slightly higher so you could speed up a little. It was situated close to the school, nearby the forest lines. Whenever you'd tell anybody you were going to the hill, everyone knew where you were talking about; it was like a secret code or something.

Edward grabbed both our coats and beanies before going to the garage. I just followed him suit and when he handed me my coat I put it on. During the last week, Edward had always been the one to put on my beanie so he did this time again and kissed me soundly as our ritual always allowed. He grabbed his wooden board on wheels from a closet at the back of the garage and went back inside.

"Where are you going?" I asked. I knew Esme was very against bringing stuff from the garage back inside.

"You'll see," he answered, winking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

_So what if I blush at getting winked at by Edward? It's hot and he's hot, so, yeah. _

"Edward, get that thing out of here. You know I don't want those in my kitchen," I heard Esme scold her son.

I didn't hear his reply but when he entered the garage again he was proudly holding a black permanent marker. He pushed the button to open the garage door and held out his hand for me to take, which I gladly took. We walked towards the hill, but I wanted to practice a little beforehand so we went on the school premises and practiced some on the empty parking lot.

"Here," he handed me the marker and turned the board upside down so I could write something on the underside.

"What should I write? Or should I draw something?" I questioned.

"Be my guest," Edward shrugged with his signature smirk etched on his face.

I decided on a part of the lyrics from 'Say Something' because it meant something to us both. I did change it a bit to fit the circumstances.

I wrote in an elegant writing: "And I won't swallow my pride

You're the one that I love

And I'm never saying goodbye"

I changed will to won't because I was proud of him and of us, so I didn't want to swallow my pride and I added never to the last sentence because I was never going to say goodbye to Edward.

I gave the marker back and brushed my lips against Edward's jaw while he read what I'd written.

"It's beautiful," he said and dipped down to kiss me properly. We hadn't told each other 'I love you' yet but we didn't even need to since we knew that we did.

"Okay, let's get to the actual longboarding." He grabbed me by the shoulders and put me on top of the board after he had turned it around.

"You just have to push off with this leg and then put it next to the other one. It's not that hard." He now held my hips so I was standing in the middle of the board and I couldn't lose my balance.

"Edward, I can't push off and then put my foot there again! I'll fall!" I exclaimed, raising my voice.

"No you won't. Here, see." Edward did exactly what he had just described and went from one side of the lot to the other. It indeed looked easy.

When he returned he told me that I could do it but I was afraid that I'd fall, break my arm and have it in a sling when we had our performance the next day.

Rose and I had bought me a dress for the talent show last Tuesday after school in Port Angeles. It was a beautiful dark grey dress that hugged my curves in all the right places. I didn't want it to be too distracting since it was all about the music, but I did want to look amazing. It was a halter dress, which I normally didn't like at all, but it had a beautiful pattern of intertwining lanes of grey. It looked fabulous and ended about eight inches above the knee, so it showed a fair amount of skin. **(Link on profile)**

With the dress, I was planning on wearing four inch black heels with silver and grey studs on the back so they matched the dress. Rose was going to do my hair and make-up, and she wanted to do curls. Edward hadn't seen my dress, but I had been there when he was picking up his suit.

_Yes, suit. You read that right. My Edward will be wearing a suit for our performance. _

He had chosen a simple black suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. It was simple but classic and my man was going to look amazing.

"Come on, baby. You can do it," he cheered me on.

"If I end up with any limbs in a cast it's your fault, okay?" I poked him in the chest.

"I'll take my chances." He took me by the arm and softly pushed me on top of the board.

He went to move away but I grabbed his sleeve. "Please, don't go," I begged him.

"I'm just standing back a little to give you space," he explained with a chuckle.

"I don't want space," I pouted and he walked forward, standing behind me on the board. He held my hips and he stood flush against me.

"Alright then. I'll push off and you just stand here," he chuckled and pushed off the ground so we were moving forward. When we had gained enough speed, he wrapped his arms around my waist and ducked a little so his head fit into the crook of my neck. I held out my arms and closed my eyes, feeling the cold air rush past. Edward placed a kiss on my neck and I shivered, opening my eyes and holding onto Edward's arms around my middle.

Because the parking lot was quite old, a lot of gravel was lying on top of it so it wasn't very pleasant for the board. After making several rounds together and a few on my own, we stepped off and headed for the hill. We held hands and walked close to each other while Edward held the board underneath his arm.

When we reached the hill, he checked whether or not there were any cars in the neighborhood and offered to go first.

It was a hill, but not a gigantic one. It luckily wasn't like in San Francisco where the slopes were so steep; you gained so much speed the wheels could light up.

He kissed me once before pushing off the ground and heading down the hill. He was ducked a little as to gain more speed, which I was not planning on doing. When he was at the bottom of the hill – where a few trees were standing – he grabbed the board under his arm and made the run to the top.

"That was so awesome!" He exclaimed when he'd reached me.

"There are a few cars coming so we should wait a few minutes, but then you should totally do it, Swan." He pinched my cheeks a little which made me smile.

"Edward, I'm really afraid," I admitted.

He wrapped his arms around my neck and held me close. "You've got nothing to be afraid of, but if you don't want to.. I guess I need to look for a girlfriend who actually is some sort of a daredevil and isn't afraid to skate of a tiny slope," he said sarcastically.

He was right, though. Why wouldn't I do it? What's the worst that could happen? Edward did it and I knew a lot of other kids did it as well, so why not me?

"Alright then," I grabbed the board and stood at the top of the hill to push off.

"Be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt," Edward said.

"Oh and now you do care if I get hurt?" I played. "You're able to play the piano to 'Say Something' too so I guess it wouldn't be that bad if I broke my arm," I added.

"Just terribly inconvenient," Edward said and smiled before waving at me. I took it as a sign to push off and pushing off I did.

I went down the hill, where I felt gravel hit the underside of the board. I was going fast; too fast in my opinion but the feeling was terrific. I saw the left side of the road come closer so I tried to move the board to the middle, which worked surprisingly well. I smiled at my achievement and ducked a little, wanting to feel more of the cold air rushing past me like the trees and bushes did.

But then I looked in front of me and saw the tall trees coming closer and closer. I realized that I needed the board to move drastically to either my right or left side and I needed to slow down. I stood straight again, but I kept going downhill fast. Everywhere I looked I saw trees and the wood became dangerously dark. I debated jumping off the board, but I didn't want to ruin Edward's board so I didn't.

I heard someone yell my name loudly before my head hit the trunk of a tree. I was thrown off the board and heard something crack before everything went black.

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* * *

**A/N: **

**What did you guys think? :D **

**In the next chapter I'll be using the Prologue, so I guess you guys now know what happened. **

**Please review because it means so much to me if you do!**

**X Nathalie**

****The book I was referring to is Divergent by Veronica Roth, definitely a recommendation.**

****The movie I was referring to is 'A good day to die hard' with Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney. **

**I own neither, I just used them. **


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

**Hello everybody! I'm back with a huge chapter, but also an angsty one! If you don't feel comfortable reading it, please DM me so I can send you a synopsis. :)**

**I wrote until deep into the night, so give me some credit :p**

**I'm by no means a doctor or anything close to having a medical degree, so all the information used in this chapter and the next few ones are inspired by the info I found on the internet. Just use your fictional imagination ;)**

**Please read end A/N for posting news!**

**Have fun reading, and please leave a review with your thoughts! X**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I'm just playing with the beautiful things Stephenie Meyer created. **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed. I hope there are no mistakes, but of course I'm only human (merelyhuman lol.) so I can't assure you there aren't any. I apologize beforehand for any unintentional mistakes, but I tried my very best.**

**Sorry for the long-ass A/N. **

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_**Previously on Stay:**_

"_Be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt," Edward said. _

"_Oh and now you do care if I get hurt?" I played. "You're able to play the piano to 'Say Something' too so I guess it wouldn't be that bad if I broke my arm," I added. _

"_Just terribly inconvenient," Edward said and smiled before waving at me. I took it as a sign to push off and pushing off I did. _

_I went down the hill, where I felt gravel hit the underside of the board. I was going fast; too fast in my opinion but the feeling was terrific. I saw the left side of the road come closer so I tried to move the board to the middle, which worked surprisingly well. I smiled at my achievement and ducked a little, wanting to feel more of the cold air rushing past me like the trees and bushes did. _

_But then I looked in front of me and saw the tall trees coming closer and closer. I realized that I needed the board to move drastically to either my right or left side and I needed to slow down. I stood straight again, but I kept going downhill fast. Everywhere I looked I saw trees and the wood became dangerously dark. I debated jumping off the board, but I didn't want to ruin Edward's board so I didn't. _

_I heard someone yell my name loudly before my head hit the trunk of a tree. I was thrown off the board and heard something crack before everything went black. _

**Chapter 10**

**EPOV**

Bella winked at me which made my heart swell. I knew she was terrified of going down that hill, but she still wanted to do it; for me. Because I said she could do it. Because I said I was going to find a new girlfriend when she didn't. Because I said that I wanted a thrill-seeker as a girlfriend. Because I pushed her do it. It is all my fault.

I saw how Bella pushed herself off the hill without even a second thought. I saw how she struggled with changing the course of the board; so it wouldn't crash into the side of the road. I saw how, when she changed the course effectively, got more confident and gained speed. And then I saw how she lost control because she couldn't slow down.

I was already running when I saw her crashing into the trees. I heard someone yell her name several times; which I was curious about whom it had come from. I was running down the hill; I tripped over my own feet and began tumbling down it until I came to a stop against a bigger rock. After I had gotten up, loud stomping noises where clear above the sound of thunder in the distance. I heard my feet slapping against the asphalt, trying to get closer to the tree line. Wanting to get closer.

But when I was, I wish I wasn't. The sight I was met with made me cup my hands around my mouth, tears filling my eyes. Her back was bent at and awkward angle, her head only around 5 inches separated from her hips. The board was lying on top of her legs, hiding it from view but I could see blood seeping out from underneath it. Her beanie had aerated off so her hair was now lying around her as a halo. But a halo with a lot of twigs and leaves in it. Blood was pooling out of her mouth and the ear I could see, and her eyes were still the brown I knew and was familiar with but they were surrounded by redness, as if a vain had exploded inside them. I was afraid of getting closer and injuring her further so I didn't know if she was still breathing.

I patted my pockets for my phone, not sure if I had even brought it. Luckily, I found it in my right pocket and immediately dragged my trembling finger across the lit screen to open it. I struggled with the passcode as my shaking fingers couldn't push the right digit.

"Come on, come on," I chanted. A drop of liquid fell on my screen, just after I had managed to open it. I didn't want to check whether it was a tear or a raindrop, I just wanted help for Bella here as soon as possible. I know I could've just used the emergency call option on my phone, but my mind had shut off too much for me to be able to come up with time management solutions. When I had finally pressed in the right digits to call for an ambulance I knew I was crying; sobbing even. I tried to get my breathing under control, wanting to be clear to the person picking up the phone.

Relief entered me when someone picked up straightaway.

"_911, what is your emergency?"_

"There's so much blood. . . I just can't. . . Please come and help her!"

So much for trying to be clear to the woman who's trying to help me.

"_Sir, what's your current location?" _Sir? Seriously?

"Her eyes . . . they're red and the blood . . . it's coming out of her mouth! Help her!"

"_Sir, please hold, we're busy determining your location, I need you to remain calm and stay with the victim. Are you injured in any way?"_

"J – Just some scrapes, my arm hurts but it doesn't matter. She's. . ." I looked down at my torn coat, pants and bleeding arm before turning my attention back to my main priority; Bella.

"_Now, are you able to tell if her breathing is regular?"_

"I – I don't know." What? Did she want me to check her breathing? What if I'd hurt her?

"_We've determined your location. There's an ambulance on its way, I need you to remain calm. You're doing great. Now, listen to her breathing. Is it regular?"_

"Hurry please!"

"_We'll be there as soon as we can. In the meantime, I need you to check her breathing."_

I pushed some branches away and got reluctantly on my knees and tried to get as close as possible without touching her. I leaned my head several inches above her ribcage, listening carefully.

"It – It's slow, like very slow. She's not gonna die right? She can't die!"

"_Sir, I need you to remain calm. We'll try everything we can. Can you hear the sirens?"_

"N – No." I pointed my ears into the air as if I were an animal. At least, it felt that way.

It was as if everything had quieted down; there were no birds chirping or trees rustling through the wind; nothing. It was as if something had died and had taken all the life with it. But then I did hear the loud screeching noise of sirens. Multiple; may I add.

"YES YES YES, I DO!"

"_Stay with her until the ambulance has arrived, they'll help you both from there."_

"_Now, what's your name?"_

"I – It's Edward." I hated that I was stuttering so much.

"_That's a nice name. What's your friend's name?"_

"It's Bella. A – Are they c-close yet?" I could hear the sirens coming closer, but I was getting anxious; I wanted them here with Bella immediately.

"_They'll be there any minute now. Can you tell me what happened to Bella?"_

"W – We were going downhill and – They're here!" I saw an ambulance race around the corner on top of the hill and drive down to where Bella and I were. I was swaying my arms in the air, still on my knees next to my Bella. _My beautiful Bella_. I leaned in and kissed her cheek softly – barely touching – which felt cold and nothing like Bella.

"Oh God, they're running towards me." Two men were running towards us with either a large bag in their hands.

"_I'm going to go and let you off the line so you can go talk to them." _The lady gave me one more reply.

"Ok, alright." I pressed 'End' immediately and stood to meet the ambulance personnel.

In the distance I saw another ambulance come closer, which I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. One of the two men immediately began to work on my Bella while the other began to talk to me and ask me questions.

"Son, are you alright?" The man asked. I reckoned he was about 45 and he had pale skin with black hair and bags underneath his eyes; an unhealthy looking combination.

"I'm fine, focus on Bella please!" I was making gestures with my arms.

"So her name is Bella?" the guy asked, pointing his ballpoint pen in the direction of where Bella was lying on the uneven ground.

"Y – Yes, Isabella Marie Swan is her full name." I looked at my shoes, seeing how scraped they were. One of the noses was almost completely gone, my sock peeking through a hole there.

"Daughter of Renée and Charlie Swan?" The man looked at me incredulously, as if that meant he'd have to do his job any better.

I just nodded and turned around to look at the three men working on Bella. In the meantime, the two medics that had come in the other ambulance had arrived and were now working together with the first man.

I saw one of them, a middle-aged balding guy, holding up a transparent sack of liquid. Another guy was holding a breathing mask over my Bella's beautiful face, sitting close to her head.

"We will contact them. I'm David and I need you to answer a few more questions. I'm very sorry for that but we need the information right now." The guy actually did manage to look sorry.

I nodded and faced him again.

"First of all, what happened?" I then began to explain how we were longboarding and how Bella went down the hill and lost control and crashed into the trees.

The man flinched a few times and I heard him mumble an incoherent 'auch' several times, as if it was just a fictional character that had tumbled down that hill.

"What's her date of birth?" The guy kept on scribbling things down on his tiny notebook in an awful script.

"September 13, 1997," I was finally able to think rationally again and answer properly to the questions asked.

"Okay, last but not least, I need some information about you. I need your name and birthdate, and then we'll get you home or to the hospital, whichever you prefer," the man explained. I stood taller than him, beating him by at least 3 inches and it made me feel good.

"Of course I want to go to the hospital! I'm her boyfriend for Christ's sake!" How could I want to go boarding with her, practically pushing her off that hill and now that she was injured I'd just go home and say 'Adiós amigo'? Didn't think so.

"My name is Edward Anthony Cullen and I was born on June 20th, 1997," I said agitatedly, hoping to get it over and done with soon.

When I turned around I saw the three medics stabilizing Bella's neck into an orange thing that had straps around her forehead and across her chin. Her eyes were now closed and an oxygen mask was placed across her mouth.

_Shouldn't they put her on her side so that she won't choke on her own blood?_

All sorts of scenarios were crossing my mind, and I had a hard time believing that those guys knew what they were doing. Luckily when she'd get at the hospital, she'd have a large chance at getting treated by my dad because he was pretty much the only good surgeon and doctor at our small ass hospital.

"Hey, I'm Anne and I'll help you, okay?" the lady I hadn't noticed before grabbed my upper arm in her tiny hand and softly dragged me across to one of the ambulances. I hadn't seen the woman before, and I think she was prepping one of the ambulances for Bella or something. The woman looked kind, a soft look spread across her face and her dark brown hair pulled up into a pony tail. She looked around 40 and was tiny – I guess only 5'3" – but did have quite some body fat. I'd never understand how doctors could be such obese people; they're supposed to tell people not to get fat, but they do it themselves anyways. As if saying; but I'm allowed to since I've studied the consequences.

I shook my head to clear it from the stray thoughts and found the men strapping Bella onto the stretcher, golden foil wrapped around her.

_But her back was bent at such a weird angle, what if it's broken and now that they've put it straight she's paralyzed? Or worse, if she had a broken neck but it remained in its normal space, and now that they've moved her she's dead?_

_She can't be dead. She can't die. _

I felt tears drizzling down my cheeks and I hastily wiped them away. I followed Anne to one of the ambulances and she took me to the back, wrapping a blanket around me.

_They had better washed this before they gave it to me._

"Are you her brother?" Anne asked politely, giving me a cup of water to drink.

I shook my head. "No, I'm her boyfriend," it hurt to say it after all I did to get her in this situation, but unless she confirmed it was over, it wasn't.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Why sorry? She isn't goddamn dead," I got angry, living in a routine of denial. I knew her chances were only slight; I had seen her situation with my own eyes but yet I didn't dare to acknowledge the fact that I might never see her full of life again.

"Of course not," her voice said reassuringly. "I just feel bad for you to have to deal with this all," she added, opening the blanket on my left side.

"I'm going to have to treat your left side, but the guys are done with Bella so we're going to transfer her to the hospital first. I reckon you'd rather sit with her than getting sterilizer in your wounds, am I correct?" I nodded, not caring about the sterilizer part, but wanting to be with Bella immediately.

"I'm going to the other ambulance, you can stay here. Two other guys will come here with Bella to make the short drive to the hospital. There someone will treat you, who likely won't be me since I have to be available for other emergencies," she said, explaining everything to me like a three-year-old. But I appreciated it anyway.

"Stay strong, boy," she said before walking away and getting into the driver's side of the other vehicle.

I emptied the plastic cup of water by swallowing it in a few gulps and threw it in a little bin underneath the chair I was sitting on. Well, chair for all intents and purposes.

_Fucking hell, I thought she said they'd bring her here immediately? It's been over half a minute already! What if something's wrong? What if she went into cardiac arrest and she's now dead? O my God!_

But at that moment the two guys came in and put the stretcher in before closing the doors. The vehicle immediately took off with loud sirens and screeching tires.

Bella's face was white, whiter than usual, and her veins were visible through the skin on her neck.

"May I?" I asked, motioning for Bella's hand.

"Sure, kid. If you sit here," he didn't finish his sentence for which I was glad. I didn't want to know all the things he had to check; all the things that could go wrong.

We switched places and soon Bella's cold hand was enveloped by my warm ones. I held it between both my own, as if it was a life wire keeping me alive but just slightly. I rested my forehead on our joined hands and I felt more tears start to dwell in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but failed.

The driver sure made certain to arrive at the hospital as soon as possible, because I was thrown over the entire place in the back of that ambulance. I didn't care though, all I wanted was to be close to Bella and I knew I couldn't once we arrived. I realized there was a chance I'd never see her breathing again after she entered those doors and went into surgery, so I enjoyed the feeling of having her albeit cold hand enclosed in mine, knowing she was still alive.

One of the two guys asked me about my side while I was still practically lying on top of Bella's hand, but I just ignored him. To be honest, I hadn't even given it a second thought. Bella was worse off than me; I could walk – she wasn't even conscious so why care about some scrapes I had?

We arrived at the hospital only minutes later. Three nurses, a surgeon I was familiar with but didn't know by name and my dad where there. When they opened the door I kissed Bella's hand for the last time before I practically jumped into my dad's arms which I knew was very unmanly but I just needed the comfort right now. Dad patted my back and I cried on his shoulder. He then took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eye.

"I already called your mom and Bree, who are on their way here now. I'm sorry I can't be here for you know, but I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure Bella will become the carefree and happy girl she always was, okay? I'll ask Clare to treat your wounds. She's a great nurse, don't worry." He then patted my cheek and followed the other medics into the building.

A woman, I assumed was Clare, told me to follow her and made me take a seat in a sterile room. I could smell it. I had always hated the smell of hospitals and I'd had my fair share of them thanks to having Bella as my best friend.

The woman introduced herself as Clare before cutting of my sleeve and began working on the wounds on my arm.

"Will you please tell someone to send my mom and cousin in here when they arrive?" My lower lip was trembling, I didn't want it to, it did it all on its own.

"Of course." And with that she left the room. Not much later she returned with my mom in tow.

"Mom!" I breathed and I practically attacked the tiny woman. How I ended up being so tall – 6'4" – I'd never understand. Mom was only 5'3", just like Anne, and Dad was 6'2".

I held my mom close to me, crying into her hair.

"Shh, baby. Everything will be okay," she tried to reassure me.

"But will it, mom? What if it won't?" I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands and I felt my eyelashes stick together because of the salt in my tears.

"Baby, she will. She's got so many reasons to fight for, she won't give up easily." Mom grabbed me by the elbows and made me look her in the eye.

"Mom, you didn't see her. She was . . There was blood everywhere and her back was bent at a weird angle and her eyes, mom, you didn't see her eyes but they were so bloodshot it almost looked as if the veins had exploded and they were open, her eyes," I took a deep breath and choked on a sob. "And the board, it was on top of her legs but I saw blood coming out from underneath it so I know there must be something wrong with her legs also and her neck, mom, her neck it was just –" My mom interrupted me then by cupping my face in her hands and I was thankful that she did because I could barely breathe.

_Where is that goddamn nurse anyway?_

"Sit down, honey. And breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth." She pushed me onto the bed that was standing in the middle of the room, the black ones with paper lying on top of them. _Yeah_.

I slowly came down from my high and held my head in my hands, not knowing how to continue everything. If she died, I'd be dead too. Maybe not physically, but mentally.

I was at a better level for my mom now, she was able to wrap her arm around my shoulders and push my face into her neck.

"She's a strong girl, Edward. She won't give up easily," she repeated her earlier words.

"Now I'm going to get that nurse because your wounds look horrible," she said and with that she left the room.

I took the time to look at my arm and side, and what I found there indeed didn't look nice. The gravel that had been occupying the road had impregnated my clothes and at some places my skin, which made it a dark red. I could even see some dirt and I knew it was going to be a bitch to get out. But I didn't want to whine, because I knew the things going on behind the doors where Bella was lying were way worse than getting some filth out of my wounds.

Mom returned with some fresh clothes and the nurse. "You can cut those up, Clare. I got some fresh clothes for Edward here. Do you want me to stay or should I go?"

"Where's Bree?" I questioned to answer a question with a question.

"In the waiting room," Esme answered, looking everywhere but at him.

"Go sit with her then." I turned away from his mother and laid down on my right side on the makeshift bed. Clare grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut my shirt and jeans open so she could reach the other flesh wounds.

I rested my head on the hard 'bed', closing my eyes. A few tears escaped through my closed eyes and made their way down my nose and onto the white paper.

Once in a while I'd feel the painful sting of the disinfectant the nurse used.

My mind was with Bella at all times; thinking about what she must be feeling right now, if she felt anything at all. And what her parents and not to mention Emmett were thinking right now. Would they blame me? Would they hate me?

After over an hour of prodding and jabbing into my wounds – without any anesthesia – I was allowed to put on my fresh clothes. When I'd been lying there, a doctor had come in to stitch up some of the greater wounds and after that the nurse had put on several surgical dressings to prevent the wounds from infecting, I was free to go. To the waiting room, that is.

Luckily, mom had brought me a slightly oversized hoodie with some loose jeans; as if she'd somehow known I was injured and sensitive at the leg, side and arm. I was still wearing my damaged shoes, the sock still sticking out.

Clare gave me instructions on how to change the dressings – as if my dad wouldn't know.

_I mean, he might be doing surgery right now but I'm sure he has no idea as to how to change some tape and huge Band-Aids. Nah ah. Note the sarcasm._

But I thanked her anyways and she gave me a prescription to pick up at the pharmacy. It was an ointment I had to spread on my wounds very thinly every night.

_Hmm, sure._

When I walked into the waiting room, my head was down; I was yawing and scratching my head. I was exhausted. But there was no way in hell I was going to sleep unless I knew Bella was alright and on her way to recovery.

My mom wrapped her arms around my waist to give me a hug – careful for my wounds –, but I didn't really feel like returning it right now for some reason. But then Bree shocked the hell out of me by hugging me tight too; her arms wrapped around my waist next to my mom's. Bree wasn't that much taller than my mom, so it was more of a 'child-hugs-grownups-leg' hug than anything else but I appreciated that she didn't seem to flinch away from me. I kissed my mom's head and chose to kiss Bree's as well although I had no idea how she would react to the gesture.

She hugged me closer, which I wasn't expecting. _And it might've hurt a little too, but I'd be the last to admit that. _

My mom retreated first, before Bree loosened her grip around me. She went to walk away before she'd even glanced at me so I took her elbow in my hand so she turned around and gave her a sad smile; a smile of appreciation. I didn't realize it, but I really needed her support right now.

My mom had seated herself on the uncomfortable hospital chairs again, just like Bree had. I went to sit down too. Mom grabbed herself a magazine with a picture of a pineapple on the cover and offered me an Entertainment Weekly. I just shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers, hating the feel of the tape and stitches pulling on my side.

And then the waiting began. It was interrupted after about five minutes when the Swan family, with an additional Hale, came rushing into the waiting room.

"Where is she?" Emmett asked, walking at the front of the family as a spokesperson. Renée had her arms around Charlie's waist, sobbing into his shirt. I didn't think she was able to form a coherent sentence, not even if she tried really hard.

Right now, I was numb. I didn't feel anything. The union that had just joined us was a whole another matter, they were devastated, sad and most of all; worried.

My mom answered when she realized I wouldn't. I was looking at the vending machine standing opposite me. From where I was seated I could see the overpriced bags of chips that contained mostly air and the triangle-shaped sandwiches with yesterday's cheese. Even if I'd had an appetite – it was long gone of course – I would have lost it after seeing this machine.

"She's in surgery. Carlisle is currently busy working on her." I could hear her swallow at the end of her sentence, as if now that the words were said it had become more real.

Renée began to cry theatrically; at least it sounded like that. I was sure the pain was very real, and I could've cried like that hadn't I lost my feeling of existence.

Charlie hushed her as Rose clung to Emmett, silent tears streaming down her face.

_See, you can also silently cry. I think I might've mastered the activity as well. Also crying without tears, since they ran out a while ago. _

My hands were in the front pocket of my hoodie, playing with a loose thread on the inside of it.

"What happened?" Emmett asked after wiping his eye with the hand he wasn't using to rub Rose's back.

As I kept my eyes on the vending machine, I explained. "We were longboarding and we went down the hill. She lost control and ended up crashing into the trees," I said emotionlessly.

Charlie went to sit down with Renée, who I'm sure hadn't even heard the story.

Emmett stayed where he was; standing diagonally from me, Rose supporting him to stand upright.

"You what? You just let her go down?! You know how clumsy she is! Or was, if you managed to kill her! If she's dead, it's all on you!" He managed to get that far into his seemingly endless rant before Rose patted his chest to calm him down. Charlie was telling him to shut up too, but in a rougher manner by simply telling him to 'shut his hole'.

But the hurt had already been done. I knew I was guilty; I had pushed her to go off that hill and that if I hadn't told her the things I did, she probably wouldn't be in that bed, fighting for her life right now. But it still hurt to hear the words from someone else.

"Emmett, there's no reason to make such accusations. You have no idea if she might've pushed Edward to let her go because she wanted to. Let's get all the facts before we judge," Esme the full-time peacekeeper tried to clarify.

I didn't feel like speaking up, not to defend myself like my mom had done for me, nor to confirm Emmett's statement.

"Let's just all sit down and hope everything will be okay. I don't know if you're religious, but you could always pray," no one less than Bree decided to speak up and enlighten us with her peacekeeping. _Esme 2.0. _

Surprisingly, Emmett and Rose did just that and took a seat next to Emmett's parents, clearing from my view. _I didn't even dare call them Bella's parents anymore. Pussy. _

I wondered why it had taken them so long to get here, but I now remembered that Bella's parents' jobs were both situated in Port Angeles, which was an hour drive when you floored it. Also, I recalled Bella telling me that Rose and Emmett went shopping for some talent show appropriate clothes for tomorrow night, which I assume no one would go to now.

Bella had been worried for breaking her arm by falling from the board, but no one could've prepared either of us for what actually happened. In a matter of minutes, my girl, my love, my heart, crashed my entire life into those trees, and her life was hanging by a thread right now.

_Please Bella, don't do this, I can't live without you. _

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**A/N:**

**That was a heavy chapter, but it was necessary for this story. I hope it lived up to your expectations. Please leave a review to enlighten me of your opinions/experiences. **

**Btw, next week and the week after are my finals of this school year (yayy) so I won't be able to update for a while. Sorry for the inconvenience. I won't abandon this story, so don't worry. It might take a while for a new chapter but I will post ;)**

**X ~Nathalie **


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: **

**Hello dear readers! I'm finally done with my finals and they went okay, so I'm back with a new chapter as promised! **

**It's EPOV again with a little surprise at the end, DON'T PEAK!**

**I'm going on vacation to Indonesia on the thirteenth of July but I promise one more update before I leave for 18 days. **

**Okay, that's pretty much it. **

**This chapter is unbeta'ed so every mistake is mine. I hope I haven't made too many. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just playing on the playground she created. **

**Have fun!**

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_**Previously on Stay:**_

_I wondered why it had taken them so long to get here, but I now remembered that Bella's parents' jobs were both situated in Port Angeles, which was an hour drive when you floored it. Also, I recalled Bella telling me that Rose and Emmett went shopping for some talent show appropriate clothes for tomorrow night, which I assume no one would go to now. _

_Bella had been worried for breaking her arm by falling from the board, but no one could've prepared either of us for what actually happened. In a matter of minutes, my girl, my love, my heart, crashed my entire life into those trees, and her life was hanging by a thread right now. _

_Please Bella, don't do this, I can't live without you. _

**Chapter 11**

**EPOV**

I threw the empty cup of coffee in the direction of the trash can but it bounced against it and fell to the floor. I crossed my legs at the ankles and I slumped in the uncomfortable hospital chair. I crossed my arms and leaned my head on my sternum and closed my eyes.

I had no idea how many times I had sought for comfort in this position, but I'd never seemed to find it.

I bounced my head a little to the soft sound of the radio playing in the background. I knew by now that a little radio was situated in the nurse's office because they wanted to break the hospitalic silence, as they called it. They tried to engage me in conversations several times, but after trying a handful of times without even a twitch of my fingers as a reaction they gave up. _Thank god for the existence of denial._

I uncrossed my arms and legs, and my right leg began to bounce up and down immediately. My eyes found a little thread at the pocket of my jeans so I pulled it a little. It was the most exciting thing that happened in the past 2 days. When the threat came loose, another thing of my life was gone and I felt alone again. _As if that little piece of cotton was my friend that nearly died in an accident. Oh yeah, that's the other one. The girlfriend. _

I raised my head a little at the sound of 'Say Something' being played on the radio. I covered my ears with my hands and held my head between my thighs, trying to keep the memories from flooding my brain.

I remembered how the emotions got to her whenever she sang that song; how the lyrics had their own meaning to her and how she related to them. I saw how she would hug me after we successfully finished the song and how she would peck my lips after the hug. I saw the gratitude and love in her eyes, and sometimes, sometimes her love for me would spill over and down her perfect cheeks with the beautiful red blush she hated but I loved so much.

A hand on my shoulder startled me and I shook it off immediately. After Bella crashed, I repelled from any physical contact. I wouldn't even allow my mom to hold my hand for comfort. Barely anyone was allowed in Bella's room because of her open wounds and that they had to miss her was my fault. The doctors were afraid she'd get in touch with bacteria which could have affected her healing process and make it even worse by infecting her wounds. She was currently in quarantine and isolated in a room. She couldn't get out, and barely anyone could enter. Not that she could've gotten out of a room had she not been in quarantine, but you know what I mean.

The hospital was keeping a schedule. Every day, one person could enter but only for ten minutes. You'd had to be prepped for at least half an hour before you could go and see her. There was this little hallway before Bella's room with sinks and lockers. Your clothes had to be left there and you had to wear scrubs. Your mouth, hands and nose would be covered at all times and touching was prohibited. There was a disinfectant soap you had to wash your head, arms and legs with. Four times. Yeah.

Today wasn't my day with her, but I was here anyways. Like I had been for the past two weeks. Tuesdays were mine. At least, from 2 to 2.10 pm. Charlie had been trying to take that away from me, but my parents protested. I didn't. It was only fair for Charlie to be mad at me. Hell, if it was my kid in this situation I would've killed her boyfriend in his sleep right then and there. Maybe not even in his sleep.

Today Emmett was coming. He didn't hate me as much as I would've hated me in his position, but he wasn't really fond of me right then.

I was facing an unappetizing fending machine again. I seemed to get back to this spot around 5 times a day, if not more. It was not the same one from the first day, but the disgusting past the expiration date sandwiches were all the same. I've bought them all, have eaten some, and have tasted none. My taste buds didn't even get excited by a bucket of KFC or a double cheeseburger anymore.

I didn't get hungry or thirsty or tired anymore. Not that I had any energy, but the level I did have neither increased nor decreased.

I had been a ghost for the past 14 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes and 3, 4, 5 seconds. My mom made sure I had fresh clothes every other day, and made the nurses confirm I changed, like the small child I were according to her. I had gotten a pro at washing myself at a small ass hospital sink with the perfume less soap.

I stood from the plastic chair and I applied the 'one foot in front of the other' method to get to the window. Instead of being greeted by green scenery with high reaching trees and moss draped over every dead tree branch, I saw a fragile and thin girl lying in a too large bed; she was almost swallowed whole by it. Her normally shiny brown hair was greasy and dull and wrapped in a bun on top of her head. The skin I used to love because it looked so healthy and almost transparent, had turned slightly gray and looked the exact opposite. Had I been acting like a ghost, she was looking like one. _Not that I wasn't but yeah, you know. _You could see more tubes than skin. Her arms had about four each; I didn't even know what all of them were for. Not to mention the one in her nose, that fed her with liquid nutrition. But the most scaring one was the huge one going into her mouth to help her breathe. I remember the first time I went in there; the steady rhythm of her heart, for which I was grateful but also the clicking noise of the respiration machine. I wanted to run away screaming, but instead I swallowed down some bile and manned up. _She manned up before, so I needed to now. _

I winced as I put a lot of weight on my left foot. The wounds on my side were far from healed, just because I neglected them and didn't take care of them enough. The stitches had to be re-done twice because I kept making movements I shouldn't have been doing. Did I give a shit? No. Didn't I mind it hurt? No. It was nothing compared to what Bella was feeling. _If she was even feeling anything. _

I didn't want to be like this; this guy who blamed himself so much he began to turn into a completely different person. But I simply couldn't help it. I pushed her, and she took the blame for it by crashing into that group of trees and going into cardiac arrest even. Twice.

Yeah.

We were sitting in that waiting room with the first vending machine when several doctors wearing scrubs were running into the direction of the ER and screaming things about preparing the AED. Our biology teacher taught us something about that particular system so I knew it was the heart defibrillator they were talking about.

Renee only started crying harder and Rosalie's sniffs became more evident. Emmett had been rubbing Rosalie's back and I saw his Adam's apple bob several times, his eyes teary.

I just closed myself off from the world. I did notice Bree sitting down next to me and the occasional rub on the arm by her, but I shook her off. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that, seeing as she had already been so wary about physical contact with me. I could only hope she would understand I wasn't in my right mind then.

After 4 disturbingly long hours, my dad exited the ER. His scrubs were clean and I knew he had put new ones on, considering they were still a bit stiff around his body.

He immediately stepped forward to greet Charlie and Renee and told them the news quietly. Renee's sobbing turned for the worse and Charlie looked at her with an annoyed expression and a pinched eye, probably having trouble hearing the exact words my dad was uttering because of Renee's relentless sobs.

"Hey, older brother here. Care to tell us what's going on?" He turned his upper body towards me in his chair, his mouth pressed into a thin line and his eyes flaming. He stared at me, glared even, before turning back and pressing a kiss into Rose's hair.

With a permissioned nod from Charlie, Carlisle began to explain everything they had done and were still busy doing. Apparently he had needed a break so went to tell the involved families; including his own one.

"Her body went through a lot; the severe crash with the trees and not to mention that we almost lost her twice on the operation table. We successfully got her heart started again.

Due to the impact with the trees, several ribs were broken but luckily they were still in place and not threatening to damage any internal organs. As for her backbone," he took a deep breath before continuing. "The medics told us her back was bent on a weird angle when they found her at the scene, so we were cautious about that because a lot of nerves are attached to it. Until she wakes up, there is no possibility to know how great the nerve damage is.

"Her breastbone is broken as well, but this was inflicted in the ER after several minutes of heart massaging. Her leg is broken as well and we will have to place three metal pins to attach the broken bone because only a cast won't do the job. The broken ribs, breastbone and leg should heal just fine overtime but there is another matter I'd like to address.

"She hit her head against a tree trunk and we have no idea how great that damage might be. We will make an MRI first thing tomorrow but since they're still busy on the care for her leg and she'll need rest after, we will have to wait. Brain damage could have been inflicted and this is where it gets rough. We don't know much about the human brain yet, so if it appears that she does have an abnormality its very likely she'll have to live with it for the rest of her life.

"She also has some major wounds on her thighs and across the waist, which we will stitch up. Unfortunately, we have to take prevention measures which will refrain that she will be in an isolated room with only mere visits from the family. If she gets an infection now, it might be the last push over the edge and we don't want that of course."

Carlisle nodded and I could see him blink away tears; it was practically his daughter too. I was so happy he was close to her, and knew everything about her situation just so I knew a doctor wasn't making it like rainbows and unicorns while she was actually fighting for her life in there.

The waiting room was silent; no sounds but the permanent purr of the light in the vending machine. Renee was slumped against Charlie, her mouth open in agony but no sound coming out of it. Everything was an eerie quiet and I loathed it. The smell of hospital entered my senses and only managed to make matters worse. I crossed my legs at the ankles and stretched a little which made my stitches pull. I winced and Bree grabbed my hand to keep me from touching them. I was grateful but at the same time I just wanted to be alone. I pulled my hand from hers and walked away. I couldn't bear seeing anymore sad people. I wanted to have fun, to forget anything happened today. But I simply couldn't; I couldn't have fun without my Bella, and definitely not now she was lying in that bed; looking like the ghost she was of her previous self.

I could feel the stares of seven pairs of eyes bore into my back, but instead of turning back, I looked at the floor and pushed my hands deep into my jeans pockets. A lone tear rolled down my cheek and fell onto the sock peeking out of my shoe. I guessed everything was like that in life; the occasional fuck up would be noticed by the smallest thing that you wouldn't see at the first hand.

I had no idea where I was going but I went anyways. I took the stairs, two at the time, which in turn pulled on the stitches which were burning in my flesh again. I pushed open the door, which I hadn't expected it to be able to do. The roof was deserted but the gravel on the ground. Several chimneys with white smoke coming out of them were visible but I was alone; the thing I was looking for.

I had no idea how long I kept holed up in that place, but eventually my tears and memories ran out so I returned downstairs to find the waiting room empty. I threw some change I found in my pocket into the machine and opted for the turkey and coleslaw sandwich. The triangle shaped sandwiches fell down into the black hole and I opened the heavy lid to get the appetizing looking meal out. I tore the plastic off after I had taken a seat and took a whiff; no aroma at all.

_Bon appetit to me. _

I took a bite and began to chew when everything I ate the previous day came up my esophagus again. I threw the sandwich away from me and reached for a nearby trashcan, emptying my stomach in three heaves. I had no idea what to do anymore; I felt hopeless. The heaving made my stitches pull again and my heart seared with pain. My head hurt with all the events of the day, and my eyes were burning. I just wanted to crawl into some hole and not return until everything was back to normal. But of course, that wasn't possible.

Those two weeks after that were horrible. I didn't go to school; hell I barely even went home. My mom brought me those clothes and sometimes they were accompanied by a homemade meal, which I tried to devour but couldn't.

I didn't know why I was at the hospital at all times; it wasn't as if the doctors predicted her to get out of her coma at any second. They kept her in it, to make sure she could heal the best as possible. The MRI showed no signs of any brain damage luckily, but that didn't confirm everything. She did have a concussion and they don't know what result that had on her brains. _Pray, is what they said. Pray that everything will be okay. _

They never explained the proper way to pray. We didn't go to church, how would I know? But then I thought back to a ritual I used to do with my gran when she was still alive. She'd tuck me in at night and tell me to clasp my hands and close my eyes before thanking god and asking him to help the people who needed it most. Sometimes, she said, I could ask for things myself. After the first time I did this up on the roof on that awful day, I proceeded to do it every day. Every day I would thank him for something else, I would ask him to take care of different people of the population, but every single day I would ask him the same thing; please make sure Bella gets better. Maybe it was because I hadn't prayed in years that he hadn't listened yet, or maybe I needed to repeat it at least fifty times before he even noticed me like a one hundred thousand follower account on Instagram getting asked to do shout out for shout out in their comments box. Not to mention that they got at least a hundred comments and ten thousand likes on every picture and only 70 of those notifications make it into the notification box of the owner. Maybe they could've given me feedback, something like 'God's currently busy with making the wishes of other people come true, please return after asking him 56 times'.

But it didn't stop me. I vowed to do anything that might help my Bella heal faster.

"Hey, son," Lydia, a nurse asked. Lydia had been Bella's nurse for the entire two weeks she had been here, but only for the night shifts.

I faced her and tried to smile a genuine smile, but failed. I hadn't in so long that the dry skin of my lips tore and I could taste the coppery flavor of the blood on my tongue.

"Hey, Lydia," I replied, rubbing my lower lip with my fingers to get rid of the blood.

I turned back to the window, seeing a doctor check Bella's pupils with a little flashlight. I reckoned the man couldn't be taller than 5'4" and the blue scrubs made his legs look even shorter than they already were.

"They're going to make some new x-rays of her leg and back today," Lydia informed me. Not that I didn't already know. I might've entered the nurse's office to check Bella's file when all of the nurses were either with the patients or at break.

"Thanks for telling me. Is it just a normal checkup or are they worried something might be wrong?" I was proud at myself for forming a coherent sentence. I hadn't been able to do so for a while now and I was starting to think I might've injured my own brain as well.

_Not funny, Edward. _

"It's just a routine checkup. They want to make sure the pins were placed right and that the bone is healing well. The same goes for her ribs and breastbone," she said.

"Thank you." That was my subtle – not very subtle – way of dismissing her. She got the hint luckily and walked away to prep herself for entering the isolation room.

"Edward," a voice called out. _Looks like it's socialize with Edward day today, huh. _

I recognized the voice but I just didn't feel like answering. I knew what I was doing was wrong; my mom hadn't done anything but defend me but I was still annoyed by everyone.

"Hey," I turned towards my mom and faked a little smile, not large enough to tear my lip open again.

"I heard Bella will be getting some x-rays done today." She skidded to a stop next to me and faced the glass, watching how the nurses began to move around my Bella.

I explained what they were planning on doing before my mom started to convince me to come home for a little while.

"No, I'm staying here in case Bella needs me. End of discussion." I proceeded to walk away but my mom grabbed me by the arm.

"You listen to me right now! Bella's condition isn't your fault and I can't stand anymore of this. You don't have to blame yourself. If you want to be here for her that's totally understandable and I would never object to that but what you're doing now is unhealthy. You're practically starving yourself of both food and sleep. A few more weeks of this and she won't be able to see you if she wakes up because you died of starvation and I won't let that happen to my son. You can't see her now anyways so you're coming home with me where I'll make you a nice meal, give you some clean clothes and you can sleep in a proper bed for once. Understood?" This Esme didn't come out to play often, but when she did I almost felt it necessary to grab my balls to protect them. I swallowed and just nodded stupidly, not knowing what to say.

She made sure I followed her to the car and she drove home. I actually found the purr of the engine and the little bumps in the road comforting, and fell asleep during the short ride home.

"Sweetie," my mom shook my shoulder a little. I knew my dad was still at work and my tiny ass mom wouldn't be able to carry me inside. _Damn, how I wish I was just a little dependent baby. _

I groaned at the feeling of my left side, having been in an uncomfortable position.

I made it into the house where my mom heated up a plate of her homemade lasagna. I devoured it, practically without chewing. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. She gave me a cold glass of milk to drown which I did gratefully. She ruffled my hair and kissed my cheek before clearing the dishes away and she shooed me away.

The stairs were a serious obstacle I had to overcome. I opened the door, but didn't even bother closing it before stripping down to my boxer briefs and collapsing face first on my bed. _She was right though; my bed is way more comfortable than the makeshift bed of five hospital chairs._

That was my last thought before I fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

**~Stay~**

**BPOV**

I felt so heavy. The water was pressing me down like I was just a little feather but I still felt like a huge block of concrete. There was water everywhere; making it harder for me to breathe. I tried to find the power to swim to the surface, the need to inhale huge amounts of oxygen big.

I kept moving my arms and legs, but I only went deeper and deeper. It was as if my leg was attached to a chain which in turn was attached to the bottom of the ocean, pond, or river, whatever it might've been.

And then everything went black. The water was gone and I couldn't move my limbs anymore. My eyes closed on their own accords and it felt like I was fighting a losing battle. My leg and back hurt, probably because of the huge amount of effort I had put into trying to reach the surface. My head felt as if I had hit it against the ground or against a boulder or something.

I tried to think about what happened; how I ended up in this blackness. About how it was possible that the water was suddenly gone, and about how I ended up in the water in the first place.

I wanted to think, I wanted to know. But all I could think about was a name. A name I didn't know who it belonged to. A boy's name.

_Edward. _

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**A/N: **

**Thanks for reading! Please review because it encourages me to write faster ;)**

**I hope it was worth the wait!**

**X~ Nathalie **


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